


You Mean a Latte to Me

by delsol



Category: Star vs. The Forces Of Evil
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Angst, Crushes, Eventual Relationships, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Kissing, M/M, Misunderstandings, Pining, Swearing, Tom has Turrets Syndrome, background star/jackie, brief one-sided startom, chapter 7 and on are just drabbles in this au, chapter 8 is rated M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-04
Updated: 2018-05-29
Packaged: 2018-08-29 02:20:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 30,378
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8471827
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/delsol/pseuds/delsol
Summary: Tom works at a hipster coffee shop, and in an attempt to pick up a cute girl, Tom writes his number down on her drink, but her friend accidentally picks it up instead. Refusing to admit his mistake, Tom follows through by taking her not-so-blonde, not-so-female friend on a date.  (aka the coffee shop au that no one asked for)





	1. Love is an Open Door

**Author's Note:**

> okay so I literally got into this show two days ago and ended up writing this fic yesterday????  
> I haven't written in a while, and i don't have a beta for this fandom, so I'm a bit rusty please bear with me !
> 
> come say hello at my tumblr!: [webwrecker](http://webwrecker.tumblr.com/)  
> 

The hustle and bustle of The Underground, a very strange, very themed coffee shop, had become white noise to Tom who had been working at the old-fashioned, black register for a whole month now. The Underground was right, smack dab, in the middle of downtown Echo Creek, which was notorious for being filled with a bunch of hipsters with a lot of crazy ideas for shops. The outside of the strange coffee shop was painted dark black, a huge contrast to the colorful Mexican restaurant next door, and if that didn’t scream crazy the owner, a middle aged hippie named Mr. Candle, made the employees dress in dark clothing. The dark clothing wasn’t the part that bothered Tom, seeing as most of his closet contained some sort of black, but the part that was really degrading was the fact that employees had to dawn a headband with horns glued to them to add to the underworld, underground effect.

 

Complete and utter BS if you ask Tom.

 

He didn’t even exactly need this job, so much as he was forced to get one by his mother who exclaimed Tom was not going to sit on the couch all of summer, pigging out on their money like he did last year.

 

 So in the beginning of June, Tom went on his first job hunt.

 

The Underground wasn’t his first choice, in fact it wasn’t even originally on his list of places he could probably tolerate working at, mostly because he’d never heard of it, and second of all, if he’d heard of it before, Tom would’ve laughed because the name sounded like a low class strip joint. Instead he started where most teens started out; the dreaded mall.

 

Tom’s job search ran dry pretty quickly because he was apparently “too aggressive” and “lacked the discipline” to fold a bunch of overpriced shirts at any of the stores. Basically watered down terms for ‘hot headed kid with anger issues.’ The closest he came to getting a job was at Hot Topic because he had the aesthetic they were looking for, whatever that meant, but they weren’t looking to hire.

 

Tom had left the mall in annoyance, though, to be fair, that’s usually how he left the mall, considering he hated being around random people and their nasty random people germs. It was during his sulking period back to the bus stop that he ran right smack into the middle of a black wooden door; the force that the door had been opened with caused Tom to fall backwards onto the gross, gum ridden, city cement below him.

 

Tom rubbed at his eyes, willing himself not to blow up at whichever unlucky soul was responsible for whacking him in the head with the heavy door when he came face to face with the most beautiful girl he’d ever seen. He blinked slowly, looking up at the gorgeous blue eyes that gazed down at him in concern.

 

The girl gasped, releasing the door in an attempt to help Tom up, but in the process ended up hitting the person behind her with the door. She seemed to not notice the destructive path she had left behind her, and instead rushed forwards towards Tom.

 

“Ooh my gosh! I am _sooooo_ sorry, dude!” She reached her arm out to Tom who was still frozen on the side walk.

 

“Uhhh.”

 

Tom couldn’t think of words, all he knew was that the girl smelled of sunshine and rainbows and…. were those even scents? Tom shook his head repeatedly, snapping himself out of his lame thoughts before reaching out to grasp her soft hand.

 

“Are you alright?” She leaned in close, staring her bright big blue eyes into Tom’s hazel ones. “Oh my god!” She yelled, grasping Tom by his lanky shoulders. “I knocked your brain out somehow… Oh no, how will we get it back? Do you think they sell those things in the black market? Where even is the black market? Probably downtown right? Do you think they accept frozen yogurt punch cards there?” She interrupted her musings to look back at Tom with worried eyes.

 

Tom cleared his throat, waving dismissively. “Uh, no. My brain is still very much intact.” He laughed nervously and knocked on his head as if to prove his brain was, indeed, still in his head.

 

The girl was about to respond when a pained groan came from behind her, causing her attention to snap to the person behind the door.

 

“OH MY GOSH! NOT YOU TOO, MARCO!” She rushed over to a disoriented looking Hispanic boy who was rubbing at his head, occasionally wincing when his hand ran over the red spot that had formed on his forehead.

 

“Jeez, Star. Warn a guy before you try to take them out with a door, would ya?” 

 

Tom was soon forgotten as Star aided to Marco’s throbbing head, but Tom didn’t care. He knew her name! And what a weird name it was… Star. Maybe it was short for Starlet? Starla? Were those even names?

 

Tom must’ve had a weird look on his face because the Hispanic boy, Marco if he remembered correctly, came over and placed a hand on Tom’s shoulder. “You alright, buddy? I know firsthand how that door feels and I know it doesn’t feel too great.” He tilted his head and smiled gently. “Can we maybe buy you a coffee to make up for it?”

 

Star bounced up excitedly behind Marco. “ _Oh yeah_ , that’s a great idea! Let’s go get you a drink!”

 

Tom shook his head. “I don’t really like coffee, actually.”

 

“They also have tea.” Marco added helpfully; Star still bouncing on her feet behind him.

 

Tom shook his head again. “I don’t really like tea either.”

 

“Do you like _anything_?” Star questioned exasperatedly, wilting over Marco’s broad shoulder.

 

Tom shrugged awkwardly, refusing to make eye contact.

 

Star must’ve noticed his hesitance because she laughed and slapped Tom on the back. “Aww! That’s okay! I don’t like tea either.” She leaned in closer. “And between you and me, I’m not supposed to have coffee because it makes me **HYPER**!” She ended with a quick jump that startled both Marco and Tom.

 

“Okay then,” Marco drawled with an awkward laugh. “Are you sure there’s nothing we can do to apologize?”

 

“Unless you can somehow get me a summer job…” Tom trailed off in an attempt to make a joke, but neither Star nor Marco laughed. Instead Marco brightened up and grabbed for Tom’s hand.

 

What was up with everyone touching Tom today? He thought bitterly as he was manhandled through the very door that caused him pain.

 

“Hey! What the hell are you doing? I already told you I don’t want any coffee.” Tom glared angrily at Marco, who was stronger than he appeared to be, as he was led to the front counter of the coffee establishment.

 

“No, no, no!” Marco said finally releasing Tom’s hand, waving his hands in to dispel the misunderstanding. Marco nods his head towards a balding man currently working behind the black counter. “This is Mr. Candle’s shop. My dad’s restaurant is next door so we’ve known Mr. Candle for years now. I can totally hook you up with a job, man.”

 

Marco’s sweet honeyed brown eyes met Tom’s disbelieving hazel ones. Marco smiled at Tom’s incredulity, and for a moment Tom forgot Star was standing somewhere behind him.

 

Tom blinked in quick succession before lightly smiling. “Thank you.”

 

Marco winked at him and pulled finger guns. “Don’t worry about it, dude. After a beating from that door you deserve some kind of reward.”

 

Tom, unbeknownst to himself, winked back with a blank face. It was somewhat of a twitch he had where his left eye would blink while the right one stayed open, and most of the times he wasn’t aware of it until the other person made it weird.

 

This was, unfortunately, one of those times.

 

Marco’s face scrunched up into a fake, very awkward looking smile and Star began to laugh from somewhere behind Marco.

 

“ _Ooooo_! Talk about sugar daddy, Marco!” Star exclaimed dancing around a blushing Marco and a brooding Tom.

 

Tom raised an eyebrow, willing this whole thing to blow over quickly so that he might still walk out with a job. He needed to dispel the awkwardness before it got even more awkward. Say something! Tom thought angrily to himself, replaying the conversation they’d just had, trying to find something of sustenance to talk about.

 

“What’s your reward then?” Tom had, idiotically, blurted out the first thing that came to mind. Not thinking of how it could be taken out of context with Marco’s previous statement, and instead placed into Star’s sugar daddy comment.

 

Marco choked and brought a hand up to cover his coughing fit, while Star howled and slapped Tom on the back. “You’re hilarious, you know that?”

 

Tom smiled awkwardly, looking back and forth between Star and Marco.

 

He’d never really had friends, never mind people that found him funny, so to have this beautiful girl pay any attention to him at all, let alone find him amusing was enough to make Tom’s heart soar.

 

“I’m just gonna go grab Mr. Candle” Marco began walking backwards, pointing with his towards the hippie looking man serving a scone to a teen that went to Tom’s school.

 

Tom nodded quickly before turning his attention to Star who was leading them towards a table in the front.

 

A quick look at the place had Tom thinking he was back in Hot Topic again, except this time with coffee. And tea, he added in his mind remembering what Marco had said when offering him a condolence drink. The walls were painted a brilliant red reminiscent of blood, while the floors were a dark greyish wood. The whole place looked like Halloween threw up, not to mention the employee’s weird looking horn headbands. The only hint of light color was the grey colored display on top of the black counter that was positioned on the furthest wall from the heavy, black door.

 

“Are you nervous?” Star asked him as they sat down at the black gothic table.

 

Tom shrugged, he hadn’t really been nervous for any of the other interviews because he didn’t care if he got them or not, but this job meant he could be closer to his new crush

 

“OH HERE! Let me fix your hair before you go!” At this, Star reached over the table to tug at Tom’s pink hair. “I _loooooove_ this color by the way. Pink is _totally_ my favorite color.” She paused, placing a finger to her mouth. “Well, actually yellow is my favorite color, but I’m _definitely_ digging this pink.”

 

Tom blushed. “It’s actually salmon.” He said, attempting to fix the mess Star left on his head.

 

She snorted. “You sound exactly like Marco. It’s creepy. Are you secretly absorbing Marco’s vibes?” Star leaned over the table once again to grab at the sides of Tom’s head to examine it. “MARCO? ARE YOU IN THERE?”

 

There was a cough which caused Tom and Star to turn their heads, Tom’s head still at the mercy of Star’s hands. Marco stood with his hands in the pockets of his red hoodie accompanied by Mr. Candle who looked rather amused at Tom’s predicament.

 

“Nice to meet you, Tom.” Mr. Candle said with a bright smile, taking a set directly next to him. “Marco here says he has the perfect worker for me, is that true?”

 

Tom was a bit confused at first, considering this was nothing like the other interviews he’d had today. This was so laid back compared to the stiff office chairs in stuffy offices he’d been forced to sit in earlier.

 

“I hope so, sir.” He answered hesitantly, still not exactly sure if this was an actual interview.

 

Mr. Candle laughed. “You don’t have to be that formal with me, I’m just an old geezer after all.”

 

“ _Geezer_! What a fun word! Marco remind me to use the word geezer more often.” Star chuckled when she caught Marco’s gaze lingering on Tom instead of focusing on what she said.

 

“Oh, uh yeah sure.” Marco replied sheepishly, running his hand through his dark hair. “Hey, Star maybe we should find another table so they can do the interview in peace.”

 

Star slumped in her seat at the thought, but before they could, Mr. Candle shook his head. “You guys aren’t interrupting. I trust Marco’s judgement enough to know this guy will be a great worker so the only real question I have for, Tom, was it?” Tom nodded his head. “Is when you’re available to start?”

 

Tom couldn’t believe it. He’d gone through the horrors of the mall, the annoyance of doing four formal interviews at stores he’d only visited if his mom dragged him there, the pain of getting hit by a too heavy wooden door. And that was all it took? He remembered his mom’s job search took months before she could find a decent job, and here Tom was, three hours into his job search with a job. Not only did he not have to sit through another stuffy, impersonal interview, but he also got to do the interview while looking at Star’s beauty… and Marco. But mostly Star.

 

“I can start whenever you need me to.” Tom replied, trying to sound casual, but inside he was jumping up and down like Star was doing in her chair.

 

“Perfect! See you Tuesday! I’ll give you the rundown then.” Mr. Candle patted Tom on the back before getting up, leaving Tom to bask in his happiness with his new friends.

 

And thus began the tiring summer of work.

 

And maybe, hopefully the summer where he got a girlfriend.


	2. Quali-TEA

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> their relationship heats up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this took forever! I promise i'm not giving up on this fic, just lots of tests and writers block! the last chapter should be up sometime this week
> 
>  
> 
> **thank you to everyone who left comments/kudos you really motivated me to write. make sure to share this fic with people if you like it! it makes me happy and the attention makes me write faster!**
> 
>  
> 
> also thank you to the two sweet anons who sent me messages over tumblr!
> 
>  _come say hello to me/ throw around plot au's_ : [webwrecker](http://webwrecker.tumblr.com/)  
> 

Working was a novelty that wore off pretty quickly, Tom realized as he sat through his sixth shift, sulking behind the counter with his dumb looking demon horns that were constantly threatening to slide off his head and onto the floor. His only relief came when Star decided to come by the shop, usually dragging a hesitant looking Marco behind her. Tom always greeted Star with a small smile, which she returned tenfold, but Marco, who often looked out of place in the dark themed coffee shop, constantly refused to even make eye contact with Tom. Tom became used to shrugging off Marco’s tentativeness because he’s been told by many people, namely his mother, that his resting face was very threatening.

 

Tom hoped that Star wasn’t also put off by his severe case of resting bitch face.

 

Maybe she was and that’s the reason she hadn’t come to The Underground since his fourth time working last Wednesday. Oh god, Tom thought, sinking further in his stool behind the register, what if he’d already blown his chances with his crush.

 

His coworker Jackie, who was busy cleaning the empty tables noticed Tom’s sulking and shot him an apologetic glance which Tom returned with a small huff of annoyance.

 

The three times that Star had come in during his shifts, she seemed to be close with Jackie, considering how Jackie would leave her work for Tom to do while she and Star giggled to themselves in the corner table near the back where Mr. Candle couldn’t see them.

 

Contrary to how it seemed, Tom didn’t hate Jackie, in fact he found that she was one of the only coworkers he could stand. Probably because she was a lot prettier than the weird guys who he worked with, but also because, for the most part, she left Tom alone. The only really annoying thing about Jackie was that she could easily talk and joke around with Star while Tom could barely even say ‘hi’ to the blonde when she ordered her sugary coffee drinks.

 

While Star had been a no show for the past week, Tom had noticed Marco coming in at least once a day always ordering the same exact thing: medium dark roast with two pumps of hazelnut syrup and exactly three tablespoons of milk. Each time Marco walked through the black door he would anxiously glance around behind the counter which at first Tom was weirded out by, thinking that maybe Marco was looking to see if Tom was there, but after Star had spilled that Marco had had a crush on Jackie back in middle school, Tom realized he was probably looking for her.

 

Not him.

 

Tom didn’t know why this fact made his stomach feel queasy, but it did. And it was annoying. Tom couldn’t help but feel disappointed every time Marco came in and only saw him behind the counter, noticing the way Marco’s feet would falter as he walked up to the counter with his hands wringing in front of himself.

 

Marco would always order in a small squeakish voice that he never used when he was around Star, only around Tom, and Tom didn’t understand why Marco still thought he was intimidating. Tom was literally stuck wearing a dumb headband with horns on it. What was so intimidating about that? Was his resting bitch face _that_ bad?

 

Normally Marco’s constant voice cracks would make Tom laugh, considering he’d never met someone who had as many voice cracks as Marco had in one conversation, but today when Marco hesitantly walked over to the counter Tom was at the end of his rope.

 

Jackie had been slacking off all day and took her break earlier than she should have, which left Tom all alone at the counter during the rush of lunch hour constantly taking orders, and never having a chance to even sit down for six seconds, meaning his feet and back were killing him. That coupled with the fact that Star was still absent made Tom bitchier than usual, but Marco’s arrival actually made Tom smile for the first time that whole day. Well, technically he was smiling at the customers, but it probably ended up being more of a grimace than anything.

 

Marco showed up right after the rush had died down, which meant Tom had more time to make small talk with him; aka more time for him to figure out why Star hadn’t been coming to The Underground. Marco, predictable as always ordered his special drink after saying a meek ‘hello’ before sitting down at one of the barstools at the front counter.

 

Tom was finishing Marco’s drink, along with a coffee for himself as Jackie came out of the break room with the audacity to smile at Tom like she hadn’t just left him for dead during the lunch stampede.

 

“I’m taking my break.” Tom said forcefully, pushing past her to sit down next to a startled Marco who wasn’t expecting Tom to plop into the stool next to him. “Order up.” He turned back to Marco with a smile.

 

“I didn’t realize you came with my order.” Marco hid a smile behind his steaming mug.

 

Tom’s eyes widened before he understood what Marco was saying. God, Tom seriously needed to get his head out of the gutter.

 

Tom cleared his throat and smirked devilishly. “Free of charge.”

 

“What a steal.” Marco rolled his eyes, but his cheeks blushed red.

 

Why was Marco blushing, Tom wondered, looking around to see if Jackie was near them, but it didn’t seem like Marco even realized she was working today. Weird. Maybe it was a bit warmer in here than it was in his family’s restaurant next door?

 

“Speaking of orders, who the hell orders hot coffee in the middle of summer?” Tom nudged Marco’s shoulder. “Some sort of masochist, are we?”

 

“Shut up.” Marco’s cheeks blushed even brighter, and his voice cracked more prominently than usual. “Iced coffee is gross because the syrup never ends up dissolving all the way and then you end up sipping a huge, sugar filled, slimy thing of hazelnut syrup.”

 

“Wow, you’re very anal aren’t you?” Tom was finding out how fun it was to tease Marco and make him blush.

 

Marco straightened in his chair. “Not anal, just particular.”

 

Tom could tell that he was making Marco a bit too uncomfortable, so he let up on the teasing. “Hey, I get it. I really hate when I’m walking around in socks and I set in a puddle.” Toms shivered at the thought.

 

“NO WAY!” Marco exclaimed turning in his seat to face Tom instead of the window. “That’s only like my biggest pet peeve ever. Such an unpleasant feeling.” He added shaking his head.

 

Tom smiled, also swiveling in his chair to face Marco. “Almost as unpleasant as Love Sentence’s new song.”

 

Marco gasped as if the very words Tom spoke were sacrilege. “Bro, what are you talking about? _Too Little Too Late_ is one of their best songs, like it’s not what their usual sound is, but that’s what makes it so good! They’re finally reaching out and experimenting with new sounds, honestly it’s about time that they reached out to different audiences instead of the same pop stuff they always do.”

 

“No, no, no. You’ve got it all backwards. _Prisoner of Love_ is one of their best songs because it’s edgier than the rest of their pop bullshit.”

 

Marco snorted. “Of course you would like their edgier songs.” Tom stuck out his tongue. “I think we can both agree, though, that _Awesome Feeling_ is definitely one of their best songs from their latest album.”

 

Tom nodded quickly. “Definitely. I downloaded it like twenty seconds into the chorus.”

 

There was a lull in the conversation as both Tom and Marco turned their attention to their drinks and what was happening outside, but it wasn’t too awkward. At least, Tom didn’t think so. Marco on the other hand seemed to be struggling with the silence, turning what Tom had thought to be companionable silence into an awkward one.

 

Marco squirmed in his seat, searching for anything that would make interesting conversation, but Tom saved him the trouble by breaking the silence. “So, I haven’t seen Star around in a while. What’s she been up to?”

 

Marco looked grateful for the conversation starter, and stopped fidgeting. “Oh, she can’t drink too much coffee because she has a serious caffeine problem. Her mom limited her to one cup of coffee per week so she would stop bouncing off the walls all the time.”

 

Tom sagged in relief. So it w _asn’t_ because of his resting bitch face. Maybe he really did have a chance with her. He unknowingly started to grin, which made Marco raise a questioning eyebrow at him. What was so funny about having a caffeine addiction, Marco thought pensively whilst looking at Tom’s Cheshire cat like smile.

 

“That makes sense I guess. So when does she usually get her coffee?” Tom eagerly leaned in towards Marco, who became uncomfortable at the small distance between them and leaned back.

 

Marco’s face twisted up, nonplussed. “Uh, I don’t know, man. Usually tomorrow, I guess?

 

Tom could see that Marco was getting weirded out on the topic of Star, so he decided to play nonchalant. “No reason, just haven’t seen her around here as much as I see you. Are you sure _you’re_ not the one with the caffeine addiction?”

 

Marco laughed. “I probably do have one, but my hyper is completely different than hers. Trust me, you do _not_ want to be around Star after she’s drank two cups of coffee.”

 

Tom was about to make a witty retort, but Jackie’s voice rang out from behind the counter. “Tom, can you help me? The register’s acting up again.” Jackie seemed to notice who Tom was sitting next to because she sidled up to where Marco and Tom were seated. “Oh, hey, _Marcoooo_!”

 

“Hi, Jackie.” Marco gave her a smile before turning back to Tom. “See you around. Star’ll probably drag me here tomorrow so I’ll see you then.”

 

Tom nodded, getting up. “Yeah, alright. See you then.”

 

Tomorrow. Tomorrow Star would be here, and tomorrow Tom would make his move. He would lay all his cards out on the table.

 

 

 

☕♨☕

 

 

For the first time since his first day working there, Tom was actually excited to be at The Underground.

 

Star was coming today.

 

And so was Marco.

 

Tom smiled, leaning on the counter with his hand on his cheek. Today was going to be a good day, he could just feel it. He didn’t even mind the lunchtime rush like he normally would because it just meant that Star was even closer to walking through the front door. Closer to going out with him.

 

Tom didn’t even blow up at the customer who spent five minutes figuring out what to order and held up the line so much, that it queued out the door. Didn’t blow up when two people dropped their glass mugs on the floor just to test if the cups were plastic or not. Didn’t blow up when a lady came in trying to convince him to use a coupon for Jeni’s to get a free purchase.

 

No, he couldn’t afford to blow up. Not today.

 

He’d spent all night thinking of what to say to her. Would he just come right out and say how he felt before she ordered her drink? After she ordered? Should he interrupt her order to tell her? Definitely a no on the last one, that’d just be rude.

 

What would he say to Marco?

 

Wait, why would he care about talking to Marco? What would he even have to say to Marco, this had nothing to do with him?

 

Tom had gotten off topic for a while, thinking about Marco, but got back on track whilst thinking of ways to tell her. He’d almost given up on thinking of clever ways to ask her out when it hit him. He knew exactly what he’d do.

 

And here he was, there she was, blonde hair trailing behind her as she walked through the door with Marco tailing her. This was it.

 

Tom’s heart began to race as her smiling face came closer to the counter. He wiped his sweaty hands on his black torn up jeans, hoping that it was inconspicuous enough that she wouldn’t notice. Marco sidled up next to Star at the counter and smiled at Tom before blushing and looking away.

 

Weird.

 

Tom tried to play it cool by lazily leaning against the counter. “Hey Star, what can I get you.”

 

“Don’t you want to know my order too?” Marco huffed.

 

Tom rolled his eyes. “Dude, you literally get the same thing every day.”

 

“YEAH, _MARCOOOO_! You should switch things up, live life on the dangerous side. The dangerous c _offee_ side.” Star nudged an embarrassed looking Marco with her elbow.

 

“I do too live on the dangerous side.” Marco mumbled mostly to himself, but Star heard and started laughing.

 

“THEN SWITCH IT UP, BUDDY!” Star shook Marco with each word. “You don’t know what else you like until you’ve tried it, amiright?” She added with a wink.

 

Marco sheepishly rubbed at his arm, usually he wouldn’t take this long to order, but there was no one else in line. “Uh, let me think.”

 

“NO THINKING! JUST COFFEE!” Star screamed, causing the other patrons to turn and look at her, but she merely smiled at them before pushing Marco towards a table. “ _I’m_ ordering for us. The coffee train is leaving the station t _oot toot_!”

 

She made her way to the counter again. “Alright, we’ll have one caramel bubble tea, and one coconut bubble tea. Extra bubbles!” She smiled excitedly at Tom, shoving the money in his hand and running off to the table before Tom could ask which belonged to whom.

 

Well, shit.

 

His whole plan was utterly and royally fucked.

 

Tom had planned to write down a little note and his number on Star’s cup, but now he didn’t know which one was hers or not. He sighed and slumped over the tea machine. Of course this would happen to him right as he got the balls to actually do something about his infatuation. He was about to go over to their table to ask, but there were suddenly a lot more people in line than he’d remembered there being a minute ago.

 

He’d barely even had time to write something on one of the cups, let alone think about which one could be Star’s. He had to write something, and write it fast because he had four other orders that needed to be brewed.

 

Coconut or caramel.

 

Caramel or coconut.

 

The two words blended together in his mind until both seemed like complete and utter nonsense.

 

Tom breathed out quickly and grabbed the coconut tea, scribbling his number down along with a small note before he could talk himself out of it. This was it. He was about to ask Star out. Tom began to shake with nerves as he made his way over to their table, Marco looked up at Tom as he approached and Star gave the Hispanic boy a thumbs up.

 

                                                             

 

                                                {Text on cup: I think you're cute- Go on a date with me? xxx-xxx ♡ Tom}

 

Tom raised an eyebrow at Marco, but Marco only looked determinedly back at him.

 

He set the drinks down with a puff of breath that had been stuck inside of him, his anxiety was calming down now that’d he’d exhaled, but his nerves were still frantic. “L-let me know what you, you, you know, think of them. The drinks I mean.”

 

Tom nodded awkwardly at them, attempting to turn around when a hand stopped him. “Yes.”

 

“What?” Tom turned back confused at Marco’s random statement only to be met with the sight of him holding the coconut bubble tea.

 

Fuck. Fuck, _fuck_ , fuck, _fuck,_ **FUCK!**

 

Marco refused to break eye contact as he stood up from the table, no matter how loud Star was cheering. “Yes, I would like to go on a date with you.” He looked like that was all he was going to say, but Star urged him.

 

“Go on, Marcoooo! Tell him how you feel!” She stood up and squished his cheeks. “I told you he liked you too!”

 

Marco shook Star off of him before turning to Marco. “I, uh, I’ve liked you ever since we met I guess.” He rubbed his neck sheepishly, a habit of his, as he began his declaration. “I think you’re cute, especially your pink hair. You don’t judge me, and we like a lot of the same things and you’re easy to talk to, and you’re really handsome, and I’ve been wanting to ask you out ever since we met, and I really hate coffee I just really like talking to you, and, and….” Marco was talking so fast that he ran out of breath. “And yes, I would like to go on a date with you.” Marco’s hopeful honeyed eyes met Tom’s and he smiled.

 

Tom stood there, dumbfounded and doe eyed. What was he supposed to do? What was he supposed to say? ‘Oh no, I don’t like you like that, that was for your friend, Star.’ After everything Marco had just said…

 

Tom looked to Star who was smiling at her friend, then back to Marco who still had a determined gaze set on Tom. Tom sighed. He couldn’t take it back now. He cleared his throat and nodded at Marco.

 

Tom wrung his hands together. “Great. I’ll pick you up tomorrow at six?”

 

 Marco beamed and nodded.

 

“Marco, you sly little dog you!” She bopped him on the nose as they both sat down again.

 

Tom turned to leave to go back behind the counter and have reality come crashing down on him when Jackie appeared behind him. “Oh, hey _Staaar_!”

 

“JACKIE!” Just like that, Star was back out of her seat to hug Jackie, and nuzzle her forehead. Wait what? Tom’s eyes, which were still wide from Marco’s declaration, became even more wide as Jackie leaned in to peck Star on the lips.

 

Tom stumbled back into the breakroom and let the events of the last ten minutes play out in his head as he finally realized what was happening.

 

Star had a girlfriend.

 

And Tom had a date.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> was it worth the wait?
> 
> this was the first time i've added a picture to a fic but I thought the idea was too cute to pass up! did you like it?
> 
> let me know what you think + any ideas you have for their date!!
> 
> you should totally share this fic if you like it bc it keeps me writing updates! (who knows, I might honestly write a sequel to this)
> 
> thank you! sorry for the long notes lmao but thank you if you read them all!


	3. Takeout Order

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> is this the date? kind of

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this is late (even though there was no promised publish date I still feel bad bc its been 3 months whoops but hopefully this long chapter makes up for it?) I have a plot planned out now though and as long as i have time to write, I definitely feel motivated to finish SO MUCH SO that I spent all day writing this and its now almost 1 am ((:(:::::(:(:(:
> 
> also did anyone notice the bubble tea marco was holding in Raid the Cave???? Hmmmm coincidence? I think not ((:::: 
> 
> ALSO THERES GORGEOUS [FANART??](http://keluturtle.tumblr.com/post/157378855414/really-sketchy-but-i-had-to-draw-something-for/)  
> go give it some love bc this honestly motivated me to start writing this story again

Tom paced around his cluttered room for a good hour after his shift had ended, waiting for Ashton Kutcher or whoever the fuck to pop out and say everything was all some sick joke, but no one came. Well, his mom eventually came up to tell him it was dinner, but that’s beside the point.

 

The point was that Tom had a date. A date with a guy. A date in general.

 

The only real date Tom had ever been on was with a quiet girl named Leah in first grade, and it wasn’t even technically a date they just sat together at lunch and Tom ended up taking Leah’s pudding which made her cry and consequently made Tom cry, and, yes, it was just a total mess. Tom could only hope that tomorrow would be different, and wouldn’t end in tears and spilled pudding.

 

Man, screw pudding.

 

Tom didn’t even know what he was going to wear, or talk about with Marco, let alone where he was even going to take Marco tomorrow. This whole thing was a mess that could’ve all been avoided if he’d just written the damn name on the caramel tea instead of the coconut one. Well, that, and it would also probably have helped if Star wasn’t currently dating Jackie, but those were just minor things.

 

This was quite the conundrum Tom had on his hands, and he didn’t know how to fix it. Tom sighed aggravated as he fell backwards onto his bed, ever one for being a melodramatic queen, slapping a hand over his eyes, while wishing this whole situation away. He didn’t even know if he liked guys in that kind of way.

 

With little else to do Tom screamed, again, _total_ melodramatic queen.

 

“This whole thing is a big fucking mess, a huge fuc-“

 

“THOMAS!” His mother called from the hallway, “Watch your language, mister or you’ll be doing the dishes tonight.”

 

Tom groaned for the umpteenth time.

 

This all sucked because he’d finally made some friends and got a freaking job because of them, he couldn’t just break Marco’s heart after he’d practically poured his heart out in front of everyone in the coffee shop. Tom would look like a total asshole, not that he wasn’t already an asshole, but this would be the icing on top of the cake, rejecting Marco would make it seem like Tom simply asked Marco out to make fun of him.

 

It was settled, and it had been set in stone from the moment Tom had set the bubble tea down in front of Marco, Tom was going to have to go on this date whether he wanted to or not. He was _not_ going to be an asshole, especially not to Marco who was really nice and apparently was head over heels for Tom.

 

The fact that Marco liked him didn’t weird Tom out in the way you think. Tom didn’t think it was weird because they were both guys, that wasn’t it at all because, hey, you do you, but what did weird Tom out was because Tom didn’t think anything about his personality was particularly desirable. For real though, one of the first real conversations they’d had together involved Tom calling Marco anal and insulting his taste in Love Sentence songs, like, what about any of that screams ‘ _yes, this guy is dateable_ ’? If anything, at least for Tom, it’d scream _‘man, this guy is a jerk I never want to hang with him again.’_

 

Marco deserved so much more than what Tom had to offer, and as mature as that sounded, Tom honestly just meant literally anyone else in the entire world was better than he was for Marco. Hell, even Ludo, the creepy old guy that came in every Wednesday, would be better than Tom could ever be for Marco.

 

But, regardless, Tom had an obligation to go.

 

Oh god, what would happen after this date though? Tom stood up from his bed and began pacing around his room once again as anxiety crept its way into his head for the umpteenth time since he’d set down the wrong drink.

 

What would happen if Marco thought that Tom liked him? Would Tom keep having to pretending to like him until eventually Marco lost interest in him? How many more dates were they going to have to go on before all of this would end? Tom didn’t even think he was ready for a girlfriend, boyfriend, whatever, but did that mean he should still give Marco a chance? Was there even a chance to give him?

 

Ugh.

 

Tom’s headache came back in full force. Actually it had never left, but a huge pang of pain hit him, causing him to cradle his head in his hands.

 

He went to bed early with all of these thoughts and questions running painfully in his head, hoping by some miracle that when he woke up he’d have an answer for all of them with the peace of mind that even if Tom wasn’t feeling the date it was at the very least just extra time to get to know his new friend.

 

Maybe, just maybe, tomorrow wouldn’t be the train wreck Tom had been preparing for.

 

Maybe, just maybe, Tom would actually enjoy himself.

 

 

 

☕♨☕

 

 

 

 

Marco had been beside himself when he’d received his bubble tea earlier that day. At first he’d thought it’d been Tom’s idea of a sick joke, but the nervousness on his face as he began walking away and Star’s reassurance that she’d been picking up some vibes from Tom towards Marco made him second guess Tom’s motives for the note on his coffee.

 

To be completely honest, Marco had thought Tom liked Star since the moment they’d met, well more like collided, but after everything Star had said she’d noticed in Tom’s behavior when he was around Marco and the way Tom had memorized Marco’s drink order, he began to think otherwise. He’d thought for the longest time, and by longest time it was only like a week or two, that he was blinded by his hopefulness to actually have a guy like him back for once.

 

Echo Creek wasn’t exactly filled to the brim with gay guys, so the idea of Tom liking him back and Marco actually having a chance with a really cute guy was something that was new to him and really excited him.

 

Marco felt like a giddy school girl, and he looked like one, according to Star who was laying upside down on his bed as he danced haphazardly around his room to Alvaro Soler.

 

“I’ve never seen you so happy.” Star said with her hands squishing her cheeks together, resembling that of a fish. “You’re like me after I’ve downed like ten jumbo Pixie Stix.” Her voice came out jumbled, but loud enough for Marco to hear over the music.

 

“If that were true then I’d be on the floor having a heart attack.” Marco rolled his eyes as Star let herself slide slowly down the bed, head first.

 

Star jumped up and poked Marco in the chest suggestively. “Oh Marco dearie, I think you _are_ having a heart attack, actually better yet, I think you’re having a _Tom_ attack.” She began to laugh obnoxiously at her own dumb joke, causing Marco to turn up the volume on his computer as far as it would go. Star used the opportunity of having Marco’s back to her by jumping onto his unsuspecting form in an attempt to change the Spotify playlist, but in the end it just ended up looking like a rogue monkey attacking an innocent civilian.

 

“STAR WHAT THE HECK?” Marco yelled as her heavy weight settled on his back.

 

Star giggled in amusement. “LOOK, MARCO! YOU’RE HAVING A TOM ATTACK!” She held onto his shoulders with a vice like grip while Marco tried to throw her off. To an outsider, Marco thought humorlessly, it probably looked like Star was riding a mechanical bull, but instead of the bull, it was Marco. “TOM ATTACK, TOM ATTACK!”

 

“GET OFF OF ME YOU, RABID CHINCHILLA.” Marco screeched, but Star only laughed maniacally. Seeing no other way to get her off of himself, Marco simply let himself fall to the floor, and along with him came Star, crashing down unceremoniously onto the floor in a heap of pastel colors.

 

“Well then, MARCO!” Star pouted dramatically after she’d gotten over the initial shock, crossing her arms over her chest. “I was _going_ to help you with your date, but now I don’t know.”

 

Marco sighed. “You’ve been here for an hour and so far all you’ve done is make fun of my clothes and taste in music. I don’t really think this counts as helping me prepare for my date.”

 

“But that’s what I ALWAYS do, _Marcoo._ Don’t be a poopy butt to me just because you’re nervous too see your crush.” Star smirked at Marco’s frown and lightly punched him in the arm. “Don’t worry though, I’m sure everything will go smoothly.”

 

“I hope so.” Marco said whilst running his fingers through his hair nervously. “I don’t want to mess up and chase off the only guy who’s ever liked me.”

 

“MARCO!” Star quickly popped up off the floor and scurried to where Marco was still splayed out. Marco though she was going to give him a hug, but instead she aggressively tapped his nose with each word she spoke. “YOU. ARE. BEAUTIFUL! YOU. ARE. WORTH. IT! You’re a little poop nugget most of the time, but literally a _nyone,”_ Star caught Marco’s head in between her hands. “LOOK AT ME YOU GORGEOUS ANGEL. _Anyone_ in the **entiiiire** world would be lucky to have you! Even if Tom doesn’t end up being the one, someone somewhere will love you when the time is right. So DON’T. WORRY!” Star ended her speech by smacking Marco’s cheeks with more force than she probably should have.

 

“Wow, Star.” Marco said, nearly speechless at his friend’s uncharacteristic advice, rubbing his cheeks in an attempt to bring down their redness from Star’s slaps, “You’re really good at that.”

 

Star smiled confusedly down at him. “Good at what, you silly goose? Slapping people? It’s a gift.”

 

“No. You know giving advice and stuff.” Marco shrugged sheepishly.

 

Star snorted and hopped off of him, dusting her skirt off. “Well of course I am. I’m not just here to look good even though I do look _realllly_ good. Like _really_ super-duper good.” Star nudged Marco suggestively.

 

Marco eventually sat up after the hard wood floor started hurting his back, and Star reached out her hands to haul him up from his sitting position with a super human force that nearly sent Marco flying forwards and onto the floor again.

 

“Now that _that’s_ over,” Star vaguely gestured to where they’d both fallen. “Let’s focus on your wardrobe.” She skipped over to Marco’s large closet and threw open the doors. Marco snickered silently, thinking of how Star looked like the beginning of a shopping montage when the girl would dramatically open the doors to the mall, stating how it was a ‘fashion emergency.’

 

Star hummed to herself as she looked over her options. “We need something that says: I’m available, but I also have some dates stacked up after this one if you end up being a jerk.”

 

Marco raised his eyebrow. “How can a shirt say that? Seriously, what kind of shirt would say that?”

 

Star inhaled dramatically before quickly spinning around with a low cut red V-neck shirt in her hands. “ ** _THIS ONE!”_**

 

“Wooow.” Marco stated, unimpressed. “I wear that shirt nearly every week, Star.”

 

“ _Yeeahhh_ I know that, _Marcoo_.” Star teased him, trying to sound equally unimpressed. “Literally every week you wear this and look like a BAD ASS!” She jumped, shoving the shirt into his chest, leaving Marco to scramble to catch it before it hit the ground.

 

“ _Star!”_ Marco whisper yelled. “If you curse and my parents hear you I’ll be stuck on dish washing duty for the week in the restaurant.”

 

“ _Sorry, Marcoooo_.” Star whispered back.

 

Marco waved her off as he sat down on his bed and she went back to picking out an outfit.

 

“You know, I still don’t see how this makes me look like a bad, you know,” Marco trailed off looking hesitantly towards his door, hoping his parents were too busy watching Food Network to hear them cursing. “Bad ass.” Marco shrugged embarrassed.

 

“It shows off your arms. It’s a freaking GUN SHOW UP IN THERE, MARCO!” She did a little shimmy. “Flaunt what you got, my brother from another mother!”

 

Marco face palmed, but Star was unperturbed and continued to dance to the new Spotify station she picked out, which ended up being some sort of ukulele music guy named Vance Joy.

 

“You could totally wear this with a jean skirt and it’d look killer, but I don’t see any jean skirts in here?” Star turned to look at him with a confused pout.

 

“Why the heck would I, _a guy_ ” Marco emphasized his last words. “Have any skirts in my closet?”

 

“TO HELL… I MEAN HECK WITH GENDER ROLES, WEAR WHAT YOU WANT. You’ve got some killer legs, bro. Remember you’ve gotta…” Star trailed off for Marco to finish.

 

“Flaunt what you got, yeah, yeah.” Marco recited monotonously. “It doesn’t even matter because I still don’t own any skirts.”

 

“I’ve got plenty, silly!” Star picked up one of Marco’s legs, causing him to fall back onto the bed at the force of which she pulled with a startled yelp. She began to caress his jeaned leg while sticking her face up close to it. “Look at these little leggies. Ripe for the pickin’.”

 

“What the heck are you going on about? You look seriously creepy right now, Star…” Marco trailed off as Star strengthened her hold on Marco’s right leg before she let go of it completely, returning to her previous position in front of Marco’s closet as if she hadn’t been gazing at Marco’s leg like how the squirrel from ice age looked at acorns.

 

“I’m talking about skirts _obviously_.” Star rolled her eyes and Marco just went with it.

 

Marco had long since gotten used to Star’s jumpy scattered personality. When she first started at Echo Creek at the beginning of middle school, most of the kids here made fun of her for being too eccentric and overly excited about everything, but she was one of the nicest people Marco had ever met. He knew he had his own weird quirks people didn’t necessarily find appealing, and so on the second day of seventh grade, instead of sitting at his usual table with the band geeks, he sat down at the empty table Star was eating at, and the rest is history. People still made fun of Star, even over dumb stuff that she couldn’t control like her ADHD, but she either didn’t care or didn’t notice. They were their own mismatched pair of completely opposite personalities that somehow, albeit functional at times, friendship.

 

Star’s phone started ringing and Marco realized it was already 5:43. Well shoot. Tom would be coming to pick him up in less than thirty minutes. While Star was talking to her mom, Marco got up and turned down the music from earlier. He was honestly surprised his parents hadn’t already told him to turn it down already because it sounded like there was a concert going on in his room with how loud it was.

 

“Yeah, yeah love you too. Mhm, yup. Mhm. Yes, mummy dearest. Yes. Okay. _YESSS_. Bye.” Star had a flip phone iPhone case just so she could dramatically end calls by flipping the top down with a resounding click. Marco had bought it for her last Christmas because it gave her something quiet to fiddle with when she got anxious or bored. “Alright I gotta go. How will you survive without me?”

 

“I’m sure I’ll manage.” Marco intoned as he walked her to the door.

 

“OH! I almost forgot the skirt.” She quickly dropped to the floor and zipped her backpack open, producing, not one, but three jean skirts from the dark depths of her bubblegum pink bag.

 

Marco’s eyes widened. “Why are you just carrying around a bunch of skirts in your backpack?”

 

“For emergencies like this. _Duuuh_.” She rolled her eyes at him like he was the unreasonable one. “Go try on the outfit quickly so I can see it in its gloriousness.”

 

They hurried back into Marco’s room with Star smacking Marco on the butt to get him to move faster. “Alright, alright. I’m going would you quit it.” He batted Star’s hand away from his bottom and pulled off the shirt he was currently wearing once Star was turned away and the door had been shut.

 

He trusted Star’s opinion, as crazy and out of his comfort zone as it was.

 

And with one look in the mirror he nearly did a double take. He didn’t look bad at all. Like. At all.

 

“OH MY GOD MARCO, TOM IS GONNA FLIP HIS-“

 

“Star!” Marco hissed before she could curse.

 

“FLIP HIS POOP!” Star finished.

 

Marco sighed.

 

“This is _perfect!_ You won’t get too hot even though you, my friend, are s _teaminggg_ right now!” She pretended to fan herself as Marco fiddled with the hem of the skirt. It settled right above his tanned knees, and it honestly felt so much better than wearing shorts or jeans. Why didn’t more guys wear skirts? These things were comfy as all get out, Marco pondered to himself as he checked himself out in the mirror.

 

“I gotta say, Star I’m pretty impressed. I don’t look half bad.” He tucked in the dark red V-neck into the jean skirt while Star pulled out his light brown Converse along with a flannel shirt he didn’t remember ever owning.

 

“Wrap this around your waist you you’ll look SNATCHED!” She threw the flannel at him and luckily refrained from doing the same with his shoes because, _ow_ , that would’ve hurt.

 

“What does snatched even mean?”

 

Star’s mouth opened, and then closed. “Hmm. You know, I guess I don’t really know. Jackie says it all the time though so it’s probably really cool.”

 

Marco agreed and tied the flannel around his waist.

 

“BEAUTIFUL! MY CREATION IS COMPLETE!” She gave him a wicked grin. The sound of a car horn sounded from outside and Star saluted him as she walked out. “Good luck tonight! BUST A NUT!”

 

Marco paled. “Star, what the heck?”

 

“What?!” She said, walking backwards down his front walkway with an innocent smile. “It just means good luck.”

 

Marco cringed. “Yeah… It definitely does not. Do yourself a favor and never say that to anyone else.”

 

Star gave a comically exaggerate shrug before hopping into her mom’s expensive car, leaving behind an anxious Marco.

 

He stayed outside until Star’s car was out of sight before going back inside to fix his hair and finish his going out routine.

 

In less than 15 minutes Tom would be here to take him on a date.

 

In less than 15 minutes Marco would finally be able to tell people that he _had_ in fact gone out with someone.

 

Who knew, if everything ended up going the way Star seemed to think it would, maybe he’d even be able to tell people that he’d kissed somebody.

 

 

 

☕♨☕

 

 

 

Tom was beginning to freak out again as 6 drew nearer and nearer on the clock.

 

He was seriously doubting there’d be any way in any outcome that he’d somehow end up enjoying himself on this freaking date.

 

For the first half of the day, Tom simply ignored the fact that he had a date later on and played mindless video games and messed around on social media. This was all great and dandy, until Tom realized he couldn’t keep running away from this, and that it would be better to be prepared than not.

 

He’d googled around for random cheap restaurants around town before settling on some weird pirate themed restaurant called the Salty Barnacle, deciding that, no, it wasn’t lazy or boring to just have dinner and go for a walk in the park right across from it. There was a reason dinners and romantic walks were a classic option for first dates, and it’s not like he didn’t want Marco to enjoy himself. It was the easiest option and anything that involved more than three thoughts was too much for Tom today.

 

By the time it was 5:30 Tom pretended not to see the time as anxiety filled him. He needed to get ready soon. He couldn’t put this off any longer. He needed to face his mistakes head on. Well, not technically head on because that would mean he’d have to come clean to Marco, and Tom was definitely _not_ going to do that. Instead, Tom was facing his mistakes at like, a 90 degree angle, but at least he was somewhat facing it.

 

Right?

 

Right.

 

Tom sighed and headed up to his room to pick out an outfit that wouldn’t make him look like the asshole he felt like he was.

 

At this very moment, Tom thought guiltily, Marco’s probably excited and putting a serious effort into what he’s going to wear, and meanwhile, here Tom was, putting on random shit he found on his floor that smelled clean.

 

He was in the middle of pulling off his over worn red star t-shirt when his mother knocked on the door. “Tom, why aren’t you setting the table for dinner?”

 

Tom huffed. “I’m going out.”

 

His mom apparently took this as an invitation to open the door, leaving Tom to hiss and shriek like a cat in an attempt to cover his naked top half. His mother merely sighed. “Tom, I gave birth to you. Trust me when I say I’ve seen everything already.” She glanced around with dismay at the clothes strewn about on his floor. “Where are you going out to?”

 

“Dinner.”

“Well, no kidding. With whom, Thomas?” She crossed her arms.

 

“Just a friend.” He responded curtly, hoping she’d get the message to fucking leave.

 

“Since when do you have friends?”

 

Tom huffed again. “Since now and we’re getting dinner. Alright?”

 

“You’re not going to wear those dirty clothes are you?” She looked at him with a raised eyebrow as if to say ‘ _if you think I’ll let you leave the house wearing dirty clothes, you’re crazy.’_

 

“I mean…” Tom begrudgingly opened his closet for the first time in months. “I guess not.”

 

He picked out a loose torn white shirt with a black undershirt underneath it along with his favorite pair of skinny jeans.

 

“I can’t wait for you to grow out of this goth phase.” His mother said as she left the room for Tom to get dressed in privacy.

 

“It’s not a freaking phase, mom.” Tom groaned, beginning to apply a light amount of black eyeliner to add to his look. He threw on some black booties, grabbed his wallet and left the comfort of his house.

 

Marco had texted him his address yesterday after the whole accidental asking out shebang went down, and Tom had already accidentally memorized the route so he wouldn’t need to waste data on google maps.

 

Three more streets to go until Tom would come face to face with Marco for the first time since yesterday.

 

Two more streets to go until Tom could no longer turn around and forget about the whole thing.

 

One more street until Tom could no longer say he’d never dated men.

 

Tom parked his car outside of Marco’s house.

 

He could still back out, Tom thought anxiously as he got out of his car and made his way up the walk way.

 

He could still forget about everything and go back and play video games at his house, Tom argued with himself as he made his way onto the porch.

 

Tom hesitated knocking on the heavy wooden door that lay not even four inches ahead of him. All he had to do was reach out and knock.

 

It was already said and done, Tom told himself resolutely and knocked on the door before he could convince himself otherwise.

 

It’s not too late, Tom screamed at himself.

 

There were excited footsteps heading towards the door.

 

It’s not too late, Tom’s mind screamed even louder.

 

The lock jiggled and the door began to open.

 

This is it, Tom thought finitely. No time left to run, no time left to ignore what was about to happen.

 

It was time to face Marco.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you so much for leaving comments and kudos and bookmarks bc every little one makes me so happy and motivated to write
> 
> also I would not be opposed to more fanart because I legit screeched when I saw I got some
> 
> music mentioned in this chapter are from [Alvero Soler](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qaZ0oAh4evU/)  
> who's in general is just a bop check him out and ofc [Vance Joy](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUI5uLysKaE/)  
> who's a babe I love him 
> 
> also seriously google the ice age squirrel you will not be disappointed 
> 
> next chapter will be their date and it should be hopefully be finished by next week? idk it all depends on how many tests I have this week


	4. Trouble's Brewing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the big date

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> buckle up it's a wild ride! another really long chapter and I was on time this time! I was excited to see all the positive feedback about Marco’s outfit AND there's more [fanart!](http://keluturtle.tumblr.com/post/157542863434/marco-in-a-skirt-from-the-newest-chapter-of)  
> Go check it out! also heads up there's a lot of fluff and angst in this one?? The angst was kinda planned from the beginning but… v angsty ….. 
> 
> the restaurant they're in looks something like [this](https://www.swedbank.ee/premium/offers-assets/korsaar.jpg)  
> 

Tom’s sexuality had been questioned a total of two times in his entire 17 years. The first time it happened had been when he’d watched the show Danny Phantom for the first time, and the second had been caused by George Clooney in a tight, revealing Batman costume.

 

Now, Tom thought, he could definitely add another tally mark onto the total count.

 

Marco opened the door and Tom was left dumbfounded.

 

No, seriously.

 

Tom’s mouth dropped at the sight of Marco’s long, bare tanned legs that peeked out of a light colored jean… _skirt?_ Tom had to do a double take to make sure he was seeing straight, or, well, you know. Marco was indeed wearing a skirt, and damn, did it make Tom’s stomach flip. He’d never seen a guy wearing any sort of clothing like this before in his life, so to say he was stunned would definitely be an understatement. Besides, he’d never even seen Marco in something that didn’t cover every inch of his body before since Marco’s main style seemed to be long jeans and a hoodie.

 

“Uh, Tom?” Marco’s hesitant voice broke through Tom’s scattered thoughts, bringing him back down to reality.

 

“Uh huh?” Tom said, still focused on Marco’s revealing attire.

 

“You should really close your mouth.” Marco reached over and lightly shut Tom’s jaw while he was still spaced out. “We have a mosquito infestation and I don’t want you to swallow one accidentally.”

 

Tom blinked quickly at the light feeling of Marco’s hand underneath his jaw that left sparks in their wake. “Oh, thanks.”

 

Marco nodded a little and shut the door behind himself. “So where are we going tonight?”

 

Tom had never been on a real date before this one so all he knew about dates were from dumb romantic movies, ones he secretly enjoyed and would never ever admit, his mom liked to watch on the weekend. He decided to go with the most basic form of a first date, one he’d been planned for Star instead of Marco, but was too lazy to think of a new date idea just because his date partner didn’t end up being the one he’d originally designed it for.

 

“I thought we’d get dinner at a cool new restaurant I found on my break a week ago and then maybe take a walk in the park downtown.” Tom explained as he walked Marco back to his car, trying to slyly fix his pink hair to at least look somewhat nice next to his date who looked like a freaking god.

 

Marco smiled as he slipped into the leather seats of Tom’s black BMW, looking around rapidly with amazement. “Holy shoot!" His eyes winded and he shook his head in embarrassment. "I forgot that I can curse now since we're out of the house, but anyways Tom, this car is amazing!”

 

“Thanks.” Tom smiled as he got behind the wheel, not used to Marco speaking so much nor so quickly. “This used to be my grandpa’s car, but he and my grandma like to spoil me so they gave it to me for my birthday this year.”

 

Marco groaned as Tom pulled away from the curb. “Lucky. I’m stuck my grandma’s used Pontiac from 2004. It doesn’t have many miles on it though since she just drove it to church, Walmart, and her book club, so I guess I’m lucky in that aspect.”

 

“When’d you get your license?” Tom looked over to see Marco touching every single button possible in the car.

 

“In April last year.” Marco’s hands returned to his lap. “I failed the first time though because I couldn’t get the maneuverability part right and I took the test right before my temporary license expired so I had to take the temp’s test that day so I could come back in two weeks and take the driver’s test again. I almost failed the temp’s test too, which would’ve sucked big time because then I would’ve had to wait a week before I could take that test again. But, here I am with a car now. It was such a pain.”

 

Tom nodded in agreement. The process of getting a license was really lengthy, obnoxious process that Tom did not miss.

 

“You never fully answered my question, by the way.” Marco said with big, imploring eyes that stared right into Tom’s soul.

 

“Huh?” Tom responded dumbly, memorized by Marco’s huge honeyed eyes. _SHIT_ eyes on the road, Tom reminded himself urgently, whipping his head to the road in front of him before he could cause an accident.

 

“Where we’re going for dinner.” Marco responded, seemingly oblivious to Tom nearly killing them both.

 

“It’s called the Salty Barnacle. They’ve got a bunch of seafood, which I remember you saying you liked, right?”

 

Marco hummed. “Yeah it’s my favorite food next to my dad’s mole sauce. You should come to our restaurant sometime and try it.” Marco tensed up a little in his seat, causing Tom to raise an eyebrow. “You know, as like a second date if you want?”

 

Tom wanted to bang his head against the steering wheel. Marco was so freaking nice, why, _why_ did he have to be this nice, couldn’t he tell that Tom wasn’t interested in him romantically? I mean sure, Tom checked him out a few times, and _sure_ , technically it was Tom who’d asked Marco on a date, but how could Marco keep missing Tom’s signals?

 

“That sounds cool. Maybe we could invite Star too?” _Take the hint, **please** take the hint, Marco._

 

Marco smiled. “Yeah, and we could invite Jackie too and have a double date! Awesome thinking.”

 

Tom was .00002 seconds away from banging his head against the steering wheel. This kid was too freaking sweet. Marco was probably an angel in disguise or some shit because this was getting to be unbelievable.

 

Instead of responding, Tom quickly pulled into the parking lot of a restaurant that resembled a gigantic ship. “Oh look, we’re here.”

 

“Wow, Star would love this place.” Marco got out of the car and looked around at the pirate themed restaurant with amusement.

 

Tom rolled his eyes, of course he knew Star would like this place because the date was supposed to be for her. “Yeah, this place _does_ scream Star.”

 

Marco mistook Tom’s sarcasm as nervousness and quickly added to his previous statement. “I mean, I like this place a lot too! Not that I’ve ever eaten here, but it… You know.” Marco trailed off nervously at Tom’s lack of response.

 

“I get it, don’t worry.” Tom put his hand on Marco’s lower back to get him moving towards the door of the restaurant before a car could come and strike his babbling ass in the parking lot.

 

The inside wasn’t as comical as Tom had pictured in his mind. He thought there’d be fake parrots and creepy wax statues of Blackbeard hanging around, but it was actually really classy looking. The walls were wooden and covered in old distressed ship flags, and frayed rope crawled up the clunky columns. As Tom looked around even more, he noticed that some of the walls had freaking fish tanks in them.

 

Overall, it seriously looked like Marco and Tom had just stepped foot onto a ship straight out of the Pirates of the Caribbean.

 

The hostess who was, unsurprisingly, dressed as a pirate came by before Marco had time to continue his babbling, and seated them in a booth. The booth, much like the restaurant itself, was crowded by hanging sails from the ceiling and ropes and tethers that were attached to the tops of the booth’s wood.

 

Marco looked just as amazed at this place as Tom was.

 

“This is so sweet!” Marco practically squealed as he swiveled around in his seat.

 

Tom’s smile matched Marco’s enthusiasm. “I know right? I’ve only ever passed by this restaurant, but I’ve never been inside until just now. Dude, we’re freaking pirates right now!”

 

Marco threw his head back and laughed. “Who’s the captain then?” Tom blushed because, of course, his mind was always in the gutter and thinking of weird, kinky shit. “Probably you because I’d crash the ship into literally anything.”

 

“Dude, the ocean is huge. There’s nothing to run into.” Tom snorted, feeling his blush go down.

 

Marco waved his hands. “No seriously, if there’s anything, even if it’s nowhere near the ship, I’d somehow end up crashing into it. That’s why I never drive because I have huge anxiety about crashing into everything.”

 

“Guess I’ll just have to drive you everywhere.” Out of all the times for Tom’s eye twitching quirk to occur, now was the worst time for his left eye to close and wink at Marco.

 

Marco blushed. “Yeah, I guess so. I mean, if that’s cool with you!” He added quickly.

 

Their waitress came by to jot down their order before Tom could respond, and Tom realized he should probably look at the menu because Marco apparently already knew that he wanted sea bass. Tom quickly pointed to the first thing he saw on the menu, which ended up being some sort of salmon dish and the waitress nodded and left.

 

From the quick glance at the menu, Tom was reassured that at least the prices here were decent and he wouldn’t break the bank.

 

“You look really nice tonight, Marco.” Tom cleared his throat awkwardly at his own confession, not even realizing he’d opened his mouth to speak.

 

Marco ran his fingers through his hair, laughing. “I could tell by your reaction earlier.”

 

Tom looked affronted, sitting up straighter in his seat. “What do you mean?”

 

“Well, I mean you were standing in my doorway for like a minute just staring at me.” Marco smiled at Tom’s confused stare. He apparently hadn’t realized he’d stared at Marco for that long. “I thought it either meant I looked horrible, or really nice but now I know it’s the latter.”

 

“Oh, yeah. Definitely the latter.” Tom scratched his head and couldn’t help but picture a ladder in his head even though he knew that wasn’t what Marco was referring to.

 

“You look really nice too, you know?” Marco said, pushing his short hair behind his ears, looking up at Tom with puppy dog eyes. God, Marco _really_ needed to stop doing that! Tom’s stomach flipped every time Marco so much as looked at him, but when Marco looked at him with puppy eyes? Tom’s stomach freaking back flipped off a fifty foot cliff. Tom was too stubborn to come to terms with this newfound realization, so instead, Tom kicked his feelings for Marco under a rug and pretended like he’d never realized anything in the first place.

 

What had Tom realized? 

 

Nothing.

 

“Thanks.” Tom really doubted it since he literally threw everything on last minute, he knew Marco was just being polite.

 

Marco raised a questioning eyebrow at Tom’s lack of response. “I’m not lying, you know? I’ve always thought you were really cute. Like ever since we ran into you that day,” Marco trailed off again and subconsciously pushed his hair behind his ears, even though it was already there. “I was actually wondering what a nice looking guy like you was doing with a guy, well, you know,” Marco shrugged and gestured to himself. “A guy like me.”

 

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

 

Marco merely shrugged under Tom’s intense stare, but Tom could see how insecure he was becoming.

 

Listen, Tom may or may not have feelings for the kid, but all that aside Marco was a really freaking fantastic human being, one who didn't deserve to have bad thoughts about himself because he was so freaking perfect and nice and all the things Tom wasn't.

 

Tom reached across the table faster than the speed of light, which was approximately 3 x 108th power, and grabbed Marco’s hands that were fiddling with his napkin. He may not have liked Marco _that_ way, but for fucks sake, he couldn’t let his friend think poorly of himself when there was nothing to think poorly about.

 

“Marco, to be completely honest, I’m surprised you’re on a date with a guy like _me_. I’m just a weird, introverted guy with pink hair. Hell, I didn’t even have any friends before you and Star, but you? You’re an amazing, nice, r _eally_ good looking guy, plus you have a bunch of friends! I don’t understand why you like me.”

 

This time it was Marco who reached across the table to retrieve Tom’s hands that had retreated during his rant. “Tom, you’re super cool. I’m a freaking loser over here!” Marco’s voice cracked a little.

 

“No, no, no.” Tom shook his head quickly. “You’re the cool one! You know everyone around town and you’re super nice and, like, nice looking.”

 

Marco mirrored Tom’s actions and shook his head. “No! You’re a total bad ass! You wear freaking eyeliner and it’s so cool and you’re so hot and why would you want to be with a nerd like me?”

 

“You think I’m hot?” Tom asked with bewildered eyes.

 

“You think I’m good looking?” Marco asked with equally bewildered eyes.

 

“Of course I do! You’ve got these gorgeous legs and your face is nice to look at and your eyes are freaking amazing, dude.”

 

After the compliment ping pong had ended, silence enveloped the two as they sat with their brains trying to catch up with the fast paced conversation that had just gone down.

 

Marco blushed and broke the silence.  “My eyes are just a boring brown yours are… wait are your eyes pink?” He leaned forwards even more so he could look closer into Tom’s eyes.

 

The close proximity was throwing Tom off, he could practically feel Marco’s breath on his face. “Uh, they’re contacts.”

 

“Oh,” Marco’s lips puckered around the word and Tom was having trouble swallowing. What was this feeling? Why was his stomach like this? “What color are your eyes really?” He practically whispered into the short distance left between the two.

 

“Green.” The answer came out choked even to his own ears.

 

Were they going to kiss?

 

If Tom moved forward another inch their lips would be pressed together, but why was he thinking about that? Why couldn’t he stop thinking about how nice Marco’s lips would feel against his own?

 

Someone’s throat cleared to his right, and they both flopped back in their seats as the waitress set down their respective food. She left without so much as sparing them a second glance, leaving Tom to release a large breathe he didn’t even know he’d been holding.

 

“That’s cool.”

 

“You think?” Tom’s eyebrow raised.

 

“Yeah.” Marco answered, looking Tom earnestly in the eyes, while Tom’s eyes stayed on his plate. “I’d like to see them sometime.”

 

Tom nodded still feeling awkward from what almost just happened. “Okay.”

 

Dinner went relatively accident free from then on, and Tom, dare he say, was actually having a great time. It felt like any other time Marco had come into The Underground to hangout, except this time Tom didn’t have to pretend to look like he was working, or worry about taking orders from the costumers who were constantly coming in. This time Tom could sit back, relax and really get to chill with Marco.

 

Tom paid, much to Marco’s chagrin, and they were about to make their way over to the park that was a few blocks over when Marco’s phone beeped, alerting him that his Dad wanted him home soon, so they instead made their way back to Tom’s car.

 

Marco couldn’t stop smiling, which, in turn, meant Tom couldn’t stop smiling either. He’d never felt so lighthearted and giddy in his life, not even when he’d ran into Star. It was a new feeling, one he’d have to give himself time to work through before he made any rash decisions, but, Tom decided, it was a nice feeling and he wanted to keep it for as long as he could.

 

“Thanks for dinner tonight. I promise I’ll pay on our next date.” Marco said as he stuck his phone into one of the cup holders so he’d be able to see any other alerts from his parents.

 

Tom pulled out of the parking lot after Marco had buckled up and began surfing through the wonders of XM Radio. “I had fun, and I can’t wait to try your dad’s mole.” Tom added with a smirk like smile that sent Marco reeling.

 

“Me either, you're gonna love it I promise.” Marco tapped his feet to the beat of the song playing on the radio. “I still can’t believe you asked me out. It was a really cute idea, by the way. How'd you even think to take me here?.”

 

Tom smiled. “Thanks.” He began to chuckle and Marco asked why. “Well, you see, it’s kinda a funny story.”

 

“Really?” Marco asked imploringly.

 

“Yeah. I mean, technically the drink was for Star, but she never told me which drink was for whom so I just guessed and I got it wrong.” There. It was relieving to finally get that off his chest. Now there would be no secrets between the two of them. Everything was on the table.

 

“So you’re saying this date was supposed to be for Star?” Marco’s voice grew colder than the AC in the car.

 

“Technically? But I still had a great time with you. You’re a really nice guy.” Tom said oblivious to Marco’s growing anger.

 

“So you don’t have feelings for me?”

 

“I mean, not really. At least I don’t think so?” Tom bit his lip, focusing on the directions to get them back. He didn’t want to spill his newfound feelings for Marco just yet so he feigned ignorance.

 

“This meant nothing to you?” Marco’s voice crackled with animosity.

 

“Marco are you upset with me?” Tom turned to face Marco who was glaring resolutely ahead.

 

“You led me on, Tom. Of course I’m mad.” He spit out. “Actually you know what? I’m not mad.” Tom sighed in relief, but Marco continued. “I’m irate. Let me out of the car.” Marco demanded with a dark, poisonous glare that filled Tom with anxiety.

 

“Marco, wait I… It’s different now because-“

 

“I said: let. Me. Out.” Marco forcefully tugged on his door, which had locked automatically when Tom put the car into drive. Tom quickly pulled to the side of the street, which was only about seven blocks away from Marco’s house.

 

Tom threw the car into park and reached for Marco’s hand, only to have him pull away.  “Marco, I’m sorry. Please let me explain! It’s not like that anymore I think I really like you-“ Tom’s anxiety caused Tom to blurt out the truth in an attempt to get Marco to understand, but Marco wasn’t having any of it.

 

“I don’t want to hear it, Tom.” He snapped, throwing open the door. “Haven’t you already messed around with my emotions enough to last you a whole freak- _fucking_ life time?” Marco spat out and slammed the door shut behind him. Tom was momentarily stunned at Marco’s 180 shift in personality, and at the fact that he had cursed.

 

Tom panicked and Marco was already starting to huff away into the fading sun. He quickly rolled down his windows and drove slowly next to Marco’s retreating form. “Marco, please! At least let me drive you home. It’s like a fifteen minute walk back.” Marco refused to answer and continued speed walking down the sidewalk while Tom drove slowly alongside him. “Marco, please just let me drive you home. We don’t even have to talk, just please come back.”

 

Tom was getting desperate and Marco still refused to answer and it was getting darker and darker outside. “Marco, I know it doesn’t even matter anymore, but I just want you to know I think I like you a lot and I don’t want to lose you or our friendship.” At this point Tom was bawling and couldn’t see straight, which wasn’t the best position to be in since he was driving, but it was a secluded suburban road and he was barely going six miles per hour. The thought of losing his only two friends, and losing the guy he was beginning to fall for; it was all too much. “Marco please!”

 

He heard Marco huff angrily and watched as he kicked the sidewalk before turning around and facing Tom, who abruptly hit the brakes.  As Marco came closer to the window, Tom noticed Marco also had tear tracks on his face.

 

“You’re right; it doesn’t matter to me anymore because you played me Tom. I really let myself be open to the idea someone actually freaking liked me and this is what happened. This is what always happens, Tom. I don’t want to think about our friendship right now, I just want some space.” Marco’s angry tone faded out and he sniffed. “Please just give me some space.”

 

Tom nodded quickly and wiped his tears and snot off with the back of his hand. “Space, yeah I can give you space. And then we can be friends again?” Tom’s hopeful voice cracked with tears halfway through.

 

Marco sighed. “Tom, I just need space for a while.”

 

“Marco, I didn’t mean it. I really didn’t mean it to hurt you.” Tom blubbered out, and Marco was beginning to feel bad for Tom, but anger still held the majority of it. “Marco, I really think I like you, and I know I like you as a friend and I didn’t want to hurt your feelings and that’s why I went out with you in the first place! Marco, please, please believe me!”

 

“Tom please just stop, you’re making this harder than it needs to be.” But Marco was crying equally as hard as Tom. “Just give me space.”

 

Tom sniffled hard twice and nodded before hiccupping. “Can I at least drive you home?” His voice cracked again, but nonetheless, Marco hesitantly agreed and got back in the car.

 

Tom collected himself before shifting into drive again and the rest of the ride home was silent, a bitter contrast to the lively albeit awkward ride at the beginning of the date. He wished he could prolong the time it took to get to Marco’s house, just so he’d be able to stay with Marco for even a little while longer. This whole thing was too heavy and Tom knew there was a big chance that once Marco got out of this car, they’d never speak again and Tom would no longer be able to say he had friends. The only shoulder he’d have to cry on would be his mother’s, while Marco could choose about any damn person in Echo Creek and they would comfort him.

 

A new sob released from Tom’s throat without his permission at the thought.

 

The tears in Tom’s eyes began to reform as Marco’s house came into view. Marco released a deep breath as Tom pulled up to the curb and neither of them said anything until Marco unbuckled.

 

“I just-“

 

“I know, Tom.” Marco sniffled. “Just give me time, okay?”

 

“I will. I promise.” Marco tightened the flannel around his waist before climbing out of the car without looking back.

 

After Marco had disappeared behind his front door, Tom gave himself time to collect himself. He’d promised himself he wouldn’t lose it until he got home, and he stayed true to that promise because as soon as he arrived home the tears flowed in hue streams down his face.

 

It wasn’t until he began to get out of his car that he noticed Marco’s phone was still in the cup holder.

 

Tom sighed, picking it up before locking his car and heading inside.

 

He’d have to see Marco sooner rather than later.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so true story the car marco was describing is my car and my grandma literally only drove it to church and the nail salon no joke. And the thing w marco’s driving test? Also a true story lmao 
> 
> THE ANGST are you guys still with me??? No??? guys??? come cry with me on tumblr
> 
> also some people might be a bit confused with tom’s handling of his feelings but sexuality can be confusing and I really wanted to portray that just in case anyone had any questions about that
> 
> the final scenes in this fic were based off of Legally Blonde (bc that's what I was watching) and Cinderella bc why not


	5. Blow Off Some Steam

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> confrontation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so…. I got my first job ever and that’s why I haven’t been updating because I work Fridays and Saturdays which is when I was normally writing for this fic and then this was all followed by weeks and weeks of random tests? Anyways I’m on spring break so I finally have time to write! 
> 
> ALSO I’M FREAKING BLOWN AWAY BY ALL THE HITS AND KUDOS AND ALL THAT STUFF THANK YOU GUYS! 
> 
> And there’s more [fanart!!](http://webwrecker.tumblr.com/post/157841950358/laid-back-scaredy-cat-my-boy-marco-is-rocking/)  
> UPDATE 9/17: so i've overcome a lot of shit that's been stopping me from writing and pounded out a whole 6,000 words these past 2 days! i finished it today, but i just need to look over and edit it so it should be up by either tomorrow or tuesday depending on how much after school work i have! if anyone would be open to beta'ing for me please message me on my tumblr @webwrecker THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONTINUED SUPPORT!

Tom refused to leave his room for the next three days after his disaster of a date, thinking back and wishing he’d just shut his dumb ass mouth before he could do the damage he’d done. His search history on Google was now filled to the brim with questions about time travel and if it was truly possible, and how to make time machines.

 

He would give anything to go back and duct tape his mouth shut.

 

Seriously anything.

 

The only times he’d ever left his room were to use the bathroom, to grab more food, and once to get his charger which was still in the living room coincidently placed right next to Marco’s phone, which Tom hadn’t dared to touch since when he’d first brought it in. He knew that leaving a phone behind was distressing and Marco would probably want it back, like, today, but Tom couldn’t hardly think about Marco without his stomach twisting into anxious knots. The thought of seeing Marco in person made Tom want to throw up.

 

Tom alternated between napping and playing video games all day, which is something he only did during rainy days in the summer, to avoid having to think about the date and what happened. He hadn’t even bothered to check his own phone because he knew the only notifications, if he even had any, would be from people he absolutely did not want to think about right now.

 

Nope.

 

No thinking.

 

Tom knew that he was supposed to work today, but the thought of going into work and possibly seeing Star or Marco, and the absolute probability of seeing Jackie scared the shit out of him. Confrontation in general scared the shit out of him, and in his fragile state, Tom didn’t know if he would be emotionally stable enough to deal with any confrontation for another month or so by anyone.

 

He had to call in sick or something.

 

Tom groaned at the thought of having to get out of bed and looking at his phone, which he’d been avoiding for the past three days. Actually, now that Tom thought about it, his phone was probably dead so it didn’t matter anyway.

 

He noticed with bleary, sleep filled eyes that there were some cold waffles on his nightstand, meaning his mother brought them in before she went to work, which also meant that it was probably later than Tom thought it’d be.

 

Tom rolled over in his sheets only to see that his shift started in thirty minutes.

 

It was too late to call in sick, and it was nearly too late to even make his shift.

 

For someone who had been seconds away from falling back asleep, Tom careened out of bed as if he’d been ready to race against Usain Bolt in an attempt to get to work in some semblance of punctuality.

 

Tom hastily threw on his uniform and hesitantly grabbed his phone before running to his car.

 

After losing both his friends in one day, he couldn’t afford to lose his job too.

 

Plus his mom would kill him if he did.

 

Tom swallowed down the feeling of anxiety, as he drove towards downtown, trying not to remember that the last time he was driving it was with… No. Tom shook his head and willed those memories away. It was obvious to him that this gut wrenching feeling was going to stick with him until something got resolved, which made Tom even more upset because he didn’t know if he’d have the balls to try and fix things with Marco, and Tom didn’t think at this point in time Marco was very eager to have anything to do with Tom, especially since Marco repeatedly told Tom that he needed space.

 

How long even did Marco need space from him? When should Tom try to give Marco his phone back? Would Marco tell him when he’d had enough space? Did he even have the resources to tell Tom when he was ready to talk it out since Tom had his phone? Oh my god, Tom face palmed as he parked his car outside The Underground, what if Marco had been ready to contact Tom a few days ago but he couldn’t? Marco probably didn’t even have a landline to get in contact with anyone because, well, who even has landlines anymore. What if Tom had been hung up on their fight while Marco was already ready to talk it out? Maybe Tom had been worried for no reason.

 

Tom attempted to turn on his phone, but it was dead. He’d have to charge it when he got home and attempt to contact Marco.

 

For the first time in three days, Tom breathed a sigh of relief.

 

Tom locked his car and walked in through the employee entrance only to see Jackie lounging at the break room table.

 

Talk about facing problems head on, Tom thought.

 

He’d only just left his house and he was already going to have to deal with the aftermath of the destruction he’d left. He hoped that Jackie didn’t know, but the unimpressed look on her face, which had replaced her usual laid back smile made him think otherwise.

 

“Hi, Jackie.” Tom said timidly as he set his jacket and keys down on the small wooden table.

 

She hummed and then began to mess with her phone. Tom got the message loud and clear so he didn’t straggle behind longer than he usually did in the break room before clocking in.

 

When he walked out into the main shop he noticed how empty it was. Tom double checked to make sure they weren’t closed for some odd reason, but the sign on the inside read closed which meant the other side, facing the street was the open side.

 

At least he would be eased back into work.

 

 

 

 

 

☕♨☕

 

 

 

 

 

Jackie came out to join him behind the counter an hour into his shift.

 

“Marco’s coming.” Jackie said ominously, reminding Tom of the creepy horror movies he used to watch. Key words ‘used to’ because holy shit did they scare him. As much as he pretended to be punk, he couldn’t deal with scary movies. They were just scary for no reason. Seriously, Tom thought, who would subject themselves to hours of freaky ass things that would make it hard to sleep later?

 

“What?”

 

“He’s coming over here.” She said as if that clarified everything.

 

“Oh, okay. Thanks for the heads up.” He really wanted to roll his eyes, but he was honestly terrified of Jackie when she was mad, and now that it was directed at him, the last thing he’d want to do his provoke her even more.

 

Tom started shuffling his feet back and forth in an attempt to work off some of his anxiousness, but stopped when Jackie gave him the signature Side Eye ™.

 

It seemed like days had passed when in actuality it had only been an hour before Marco walked through the door and Tom’s heart had stopped. Shit, he was really not ready to deal with this.

 

Tom’s hands had begun to sweat which was super gross, and he probably looked stupefied with his jaw dropped as Marco walked in looking like a freaking god in a hoodie and jeans and here Tom was with his dumb uniform and horns. The urge to throw up was more extreme now that Marco was actually in front of him, and not just in his brain.

 

“Hey, Marco.” Tom whispered into the quiet café.

 

Marco waved a timid hand which Tom returned with one of his own. Marco looked so out of place in the dark depressing ambiance of The Underground, but Tom found it endearing. The shop was pretty small, but with just the three of them out on the floor, the small space seemed to multiply to the point where Tom felt like a small doll in the expanse of the universe.

 

Damn, that was really deep, Tom thought distractedly,realizing he should probably try to strike up a conversation since Marco seemed to be having trouble and was standing near the door looking like a fish out of water.

 

Tom opened his mouth to ask about something cliche like the weather when Marco spoke. “I was just, uh, wondering if you had my phone? I can’t find it and the last time I remember having it was with you.” Marco questioned whilst looking everywhere except at Tom.

 

Of course that was all he’d want to talk about, Tom thought disparagingly. Why would he want to talk to you ever again after what happened. Still, at least Marco was acknowledging him, which made Tom’s heart clench in exhilaration.

 

“Phone! Yes, yeah. Mhm. I’ve got phone!” Tom shook his head at his excited babbling, he sounded like a fucking caveman. “Yeah you left your phone in my car, but I don’t’ have it on me right now.” Good, Tom, you actually put together a sentence, he thought sarcastically.

 

Jackie snorted at Tom’s lack of ability to speak a coherent sentence and left for the break room once again, leaving only Marco and Tom in the café.

 

“Oh, okay. Do you think you could get it back to me soon?” Marco’s brown eyes met Tom’s for the first time since he’d walked in, and Tom really wished they hadn’t because now he was mesmerized.

 

Tom gulped. Now was his chance to reconcile with Marco before it was too late. “I could get it to you today if you want?”

 

Marco nodded and leaned slightly against the counter, playing with the stack of business cards displayed in front of the register. “That sounds good.”

 

“Cool.” Tom smiled brightly, but then remembered he should play it cool. “I mean, yeah. That sounds good.” He leaned nonchalantly on the counter and pretended to inspect his nails.

 

Marco hadn’t said anything in a while so Tom inconspicuously glanced up from his nails only to find Marco quietly laughing at him. Oh shit, what was Tom doing that made him laugh?

 

Tom straightened up quickly, wiping his face to see if he had left over foam from his latte there and Marco ceased his laughing. “Is there something on my face?”

 

“Oh, no.” Marco looked sheepish.

 

“Oh, okay.” Tom shrugged and resumed his position by leaning against the counter. “Good. Anyways if you wait until my shift ends we can go to my house and get it?”

 

It would be perfect, they could talk it out and play video games and get back to what they used to be and Jackie and Star wouldn’t hate him and he could have friends again.

 

He could have Marco again.

 

Like, as a friend and shit though.

 

Yeah.

 

“Tom, I don’t know if that’s a good idea. I still want-”

 

“Space, right?” Tom mentally sighed, he wasn’t getting anywhere. “I know, I just thought maybe, you know, since it’s been three days maybe, I don’t know, we could talk about it?” Good. Nonchalant, leave it up to him to make a move forward, Tom thought, proud of himself for being able to stand in front of Marco so soon and not straight up bawl.

 

Marco seemed to ponder his proposition and stopped messing with the cards. “Um.” He sighed and looked up at Tom again. “What time does your shift end?”

 

Tom beamed. “In an hour.”

 

Marco nodded to himself. “Alright.”

 

“Do you want to order something while you wait?” Tom asked quickly before Marco could walk away. “On the house, of course.” Tom added eagerly, glad to finally be having somewhat of a conversation with Marco again.

 

Marco smiled a little bit. “My usual please.”

 

“I thought you said you didn’t like coffee?” Tom asked, nevertheless moving towards the coffee machine to prepare his drink.

 

“I guess it’s growing on me.”-

 

His sentence seemed to have a double meaning, but whatever it was it flew right over Tom’s head as he focused his attention solely on making Marco a perfect drink, which is exactly what a nice guy like him deserved. Marco tapped the counter with a quick beat before peeling away from the counter and sitting at a table to wait for Tom to deliver his drink.

 

Tom could tell Marco was as anxious as he was as he fiddled with a stray straw wrapper that had been left on the table and constantly would look over at Tom’s progress as if he was mentally preparing for their conversation later. Ugh, Tom didn’t want to think about that yet either. He had no idea what to say since last time when he’d apologized like sixty times, Marco had told him to save it. Did that apply to this conversation too? Should he not say sorry? People are so fucking complicated, Tom thought aggravatedly.

 

 

The drive to Tom’s house was relatively quiet, which made Tom even more anxious. He was pretty sure Marco was able to hear his heart pounding rapidly against his chest, and if he could, Tom was glad Marco didn’t mention it, or how hard his hands were shaking against the wheel.

 

Some serious shit was about to go down.

 

Some feelings shit.

 

Very adult shit.

 

God, Tom was horrible at emotions, considering his were all over the place, but this was important because this was Marco and Marco was… Well, he was Marco and Tom didn’t want to screw anything up again. This was him extending the olive branch to Marco, and all he could do was hope the Marco would accept and they could go back to being whatever they were and maybe, possibly, more.

 

When they pulled up Tom took a deep breath before getting out and opening the car door for Marco.

 

“Thanks.” Marco said surprised when his door had been opened by Tom. He would never admit it, but it made his stomach flip. How could Tom mess up so badly and still be able to make Marco feel this way?  Marco thought as he slid out of his seat.

 

Tom unlocked the front door and Marco followed behind him. “Gimmie one sec, I’ll grab your phone. You can sit on the couch.” He gestured to the black leather couch that sat in front of a huge widescreen TV.

 

He sprinted into the living room to grab the phone that had been left untouched on the coffee table for the past three days while Marco sat down and gazed around the huge room. Just like Tom’s own phone, Marco’s screen refused to wake up and merely blinked a low red battery on the screen before shutting off a few seconds later.

 

When Tom returned he saw Marco fidgeting with his hands. “Here it is.”

 

“Thanks.” Marco attempted to turn it on, but saw it needed to be charged and put it in his pocket.

 

Tom sat down next to Marco and decided to get right to business before he lost the nerve to. “What’ve you been thinking about these past few days?”

 

Marco sighed. “You. Us. The date.”

 

“Me too.” Marco nodded in acknowledgement.

 

“It hurt so much, that night, I mean.” Marco looked at Tom and he was worried that Marco was going to start crying. “My heart felt like it had been pulverized by you,” Marco stared Tom dead in the eyes. “I never knew I could even cry that much and it really freaking hurt. I felt like I was being pranked and everything I felt was a sham that was being pulled out from beneath my feet.”

 

“Marco…” Tom whispered. “I didn’t mean it like that I swear I-”

 

Marco waved his hands in front of himself. “I know you didn’t now, but in the moment it felt like I was being used and it hurt so much.” Marco broke off into a sob and Tom ached to hug the Hispanic boy until everything was better. “People have walked over me all of my life and I thought things were different with you so when I opened myself up to you, it felt like it blew up in my face like it happens every single time.”

 

It was silent as Marco wiped the tears from his face. “I’m not really good with words, Marco, but I promise that I’d never intentionally hurt you like that, and if I do please feel free to sic Star on me. I just want to make you as happy as you make me.”

 

Shit, now Tom was going to cry and it felt weird as hell to cry with contacts in.

 

Marco smiled at Tom’s confession which then morphed into more of a pensive look. “I also realized I probably overreacted. I shouldn’t have yelled at you because you weren’t trying to hurt me or anything, just in the moment it felt like déjà vu from my first date with a guy my freshman year. He took me on a date for twenty bucks as a joke with his friends and it hurt because I really thought he liked me. I took out some of my past issues on you when you didn’t mean to hurt me, but in the moment that’s all I could picture and I was trying to save myself from that same embarrassment.”

 

“I never wanted to do anything like that. I thought I would be hurting your feelings even more if I told you the truth. I mean you’d just poured you heart out to me, I thought maybe it’d just be like a hangout between us. I would never ever do that to you.”

 

Marco nodded in understanding and Tom’s heart stopped pounding against his ribcage for the first time since Marco had shown up at the coffee shop. Everything was being worked out. Tom took a deep breath and let the lull wash over him.

 

“You know, Star told me I should still be mad at you.” Marco rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.

 

“Oh.” Tom frowned.

 

“But, I realized it’s pretty hard to be mad at you when I feel the way I do.”

 

“ _Oh_.”

 

“Yeah.” Marco’s voice cracked, causing Tom to smile.

 

“Marco I- I seriously.” Tom cleared his throat and looked deeply into Marco’s honeyed eyes. “I- no, you make me happy. I like being around you and I never meant to hurt you while I was still figuring myself out, and, like, I guess I still am, but I won’t ever hurt you like that anymore. Or at all if I can help it ya know?”

 

“I appreciate it, Tom.”

 

It was quiet for a while again, while they digested the conversation. Birds chirped outside and for once in the past few days Tom didn’t curse them for their happy cries because he too felt like screaming in happiness.

 

Marco was busy staring at his hands, a small smile adorning his face.

 

“Marco, what do you want to do from now on?” Marco raised a questioning eyebrow. “I mean like, what are we.”

 

He shrugged. “I’m still a bit hurt,” Tom frowned he really wished he could create a time machine and replace the old him with who he was right now. “But I’d like to go on another date with you. This time for real though.”

 

Tom practically jumped out of his seat, grabbing Marco’s hands along the way. “Yes! That sounds amazing. Thank you so much, Marco.”

 

He’d gotten a second chance with Marco, Tom could barely contain his excitement and if Marco hadn’t been there Tom would honestly start doing cartwheels. He didn’t even know how to do a cartwheel, all he knew was that he had a shit ton of adrenaline at the moment, and was trying hard not to squeeze the life out of Marco’s tanned hands.

 

Marco stood up from the couch, squeezing Tom’s hands once before putting his own back in his hoodie pockets. “I should get back to charge my phone because I’m sure Star’s blown it up with notifications. Do you maybe want to go out tomorrow?”

 

It reminded Tom he needed to charge his phone too even though he knew there’d be no notifications. “Yeah that works fine.” Tom was grinning like a Cheshire cat now at the thought of getting a redo with Marco. “I’ll see you tomorrow for our date.”

 

Tom and Marco grinned at each other. This felt right. Tom’s stomaching was knotted up, but in a good way, if that was even possible. He saw Marco out before running back inside, up the stairs, and jumping onto his bed with a huge smile on his face. Things were finally looking up for Tom.

 

He had a date.

 

And this time it was for real.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so this is unedited, I'll go back and edit tomorrow so sorry about that i just really wanted to update as soon as i could
> 
> I'll be working on the next chapter tomorrow and it that doesn't get done by tomorrow it'll probably be another month or so before it comes out so I hope that all the feedback, if there even is any lmao, will encourage me to get it done tomorrow
> 
> comments, kudos, bookmarks, FANART, all that jazz keeps me going thank you guys so much


	6. Spill the Tea

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> dates and possible smooches???

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so this is the last chapter and I’m relieved but also super sad to be ending this fic. Thank you guys so much for your continued support through kudos, comments, fanart, all that jazz it really means a lot. 
> 
> Thank you, thank you, thank you for being so patient with my sporadic updates and sticking with me.
> 
> Also more fanart from [jess-the-vampire](http://jess-the-vampire.tumblr.com/post/165864551274/tomco-week-day-3-september-29-favorite-au-2)  
> Go check it out it looks amazing!!
> 
>  
> 
> **there's a song link in the end that i recommend listening to because the last scene was inspired/written to it and planned out since the beginning**

Tom couldn’t help but feel a sense of déjà vu as he prepared for his second, but actually real, date with Marco. This time, Tom was really fucking nervous about fucking up their date for the second time, though he knew deep down he could never mess it up as much as he’d messed it up the first time, which gave him a bit of solace. Standing in front of his closet mirror, Tom realized that he definitely had no idea what to wear.

 

Marco had planned their date for tonight, which, even though it made it easier on Tom in the way that he comes up with the most cliché dates, made him even more anxious. It also didn’t help that their date was going to be at Marco’s family’s restaurant, meaning that Tom would most likely be meeting the family tonight.

 

As long as Marco was comfortable, Tom couldn’t bring it upon himself to make a big fuss, considering all that had gone down last time.

 

Staring into his closet for the third time- Tom had gotten a snack and then water before coming back hoping to magically find an outfit that wouldn’t make him look like a bag of dicks- he knew he had nothing to wear. Ugh, Tom had no idea what to do. He obviously wasn’t going to find anything to wear and the date was in an hour.

 

They were times like this that Tom really wished he’d had friends.

 

Sure, Marco was a friend, but he couldn’t exactly ask Marco to come over and help him pick something out for their own date; and Star, well, Star was out of the question. She still glared disapprovingly at Tom every time he so much as glanced in her direction. The only thing Tom could think of was texting Marco. It’s not like they were having a freaking wedding and Tom couldn’t be seen by the groom before or anything, and Tom _definitely_ was not the bride in this completely made up situation that he had definitely _never_ thought of before. Ever.

 

He picked up his phone that he’d since chucked onto his bed in frustration and sent a quick text to Marco, now affectionately labeled as Marco ❤ because Tom was cute as fuck.

 

**[To: Marco** **❤]**

wht are you wearing???

 

There that sounded casual enough. Tom resumed pacing his room, stealing resigned glares towards his closet and anxious glances towards his phone. After two minutes an obnoxious noise that Tom suddenly loved filled his silent room and he picked up (read: lunged) for his phone.

 

**[From: Marco** **❤]**

                _R u trying 2 sext my little bby boy?_

 

Tom raised a confused eyebrow.

 

Sext?

 

Baby boy?

 

 

**[To: Marco** **❤]**

huh?

 

 

**[From: Marco** **❤]**

_This is star_

**[From: Marco** **❤]**

_Stop trying 2 corrupt my child u heathen_

**[From: Marco** **❤]**

_He is fulyl clothe d and he intends 2 stay that way toni ght alright mister??????!!!!!!!!!!!!!_

This time the texts came in rapid fire response, and Tom, once again, hated his ringtone. All he needed was dumb advice from someone and now he couldn’t even get it from Marco, his first, and last, choice for who to ask.

 

**[To: Marco** **❤** **]**

not trying to sext him i just dn what to wear dude lmao

 

Not even five seconds later he had a reply.

**[From: Marco** **❤** **]**

_Loloololololololo sux 2 b u_

 

Tom sighed, realizing that Star wasn’t going to be any help considering not only who she was as a person, but it appeared that even over text she was going to be rude. Tom threw his phone back on his bed and picked out a random pink and black t-shirt along with a random pair of white and red basketball shorts he hadn’t realized he had. It all sort of matched in a way. If Tom turned his head a little to the left and then a 23-degree angle to his right it looked okay.

 

Oh god, he looked like a total idiot.

 

And he only had 30 minutes before he was going to meet up with Marco at his family’s restaurant and he looked like he’d gotten dressed in the dark. He was about to admit defeat and go out into the world looking like a 6th grade asshole jock of a child when his phone chirped again. He almost ignored it, knowing it was only going to be Star again, but with little hope placed elsewhere, he opened his phone and read, then reread the message in sheer terror and disbelief.

 

Tom was absolutely horrified of what was to come.

 

 

 

 

 

☕♨☕

 

 

 

 

Ten minutes later an angry knock sounded at Tom’s front door.

 

How are you able to tell if a knock is angry, Tom?

 

Well, kids, a knock sounds angry when you know that the person behind the door has drank at least three coffees in the past hour when their usual limit is three _a week,_ and, hmm, maybe something to do with the fact the person behind the door has threatened you numerous times for hurting their best friend?

 

Just a thought, though.

 

Tom reluctantly opened the door to an even more reluctant, if that was even possible, looking Star.

 

Star quickly pushed past him into the house and stomped up the stairs where he heard her open and slam doors shut looking for his bedroom, instead of, you know, waiting for Tom to show her himself like normal human beings do? How could anything else go wrong, Tom thought with a grimace?

 

“THOMAS, YOU DEMON, GET YOUR BUTT UP HERE! I HAVE TO DRESS YOU.” Tom shivered. The only time anyone called him by his full name was when his mom was angry at him for cursing or something.

 

Star angry was a whole new level of terrifying.

 

He bolted up the stairs to find Star throwing clothes, and random other things, around his room. “Uh, is this all really necessary?”

 

She grinned menacingly at him over her shoulder, looking like a deranged- homicidal owl. “Nope!” She continued throwing shit around his room, which was quickly becoming more of a trash pile of belongings.

 

Tom glared down at his messages, cursing Marco for being such a nice and forgiving person.

 

**[From: Marco** **❤** **]**

_Sorry! I was getting ready as well. Star said she’d help you out, though! She’s on her way right now; maybe you two can makeup while you’re at it?_

**[From: Marco** **❤** **]**

_Can’t wait to see you!_

**[From: Marco** **❤** **]**

_Don’t kill each other!_

Tom had originally scoffed at Marco’s last text, not realizing just how much Star truly hated him, but being alone with her in the flesh was a completely different thing and made Marco’s text seem not so far out of reach.

 

“Listen, Star,” Tom tried reasoning with her, “I know what I did was completely wrong, but if Marco can forgive me why can’t you?”

 

She merely ‘hmphed’ at him.

 

Tom crossed his arms. “Star, you know how much I like him.”

 

“Do I? DO I REALLY, TOM?” Star stood up abruptly and angrily stomped over to Tom, her finger pointing directly at his face. “Because if I recall correctly, the last time you confessed how you felt about him it was all a sham! A TRICK! A HOAX! You are a deceitful person, Tom! There’s no way you aren’t going to hurt Marco even more.”

 

“Star, you don’t know how much shit I already put myself through on top of getting it from everyone else. Trust me, I’ve learned my lesson.”

 

“Oh poor, Tom!” Star said dramatically putting a hand to her forehead pretending to be Tom. “’Woe is me! I’m Tom and I want pity from everyone for all the shitty things I’ve done to them because it wasn’t really my fault that they were all mad at me!’” Star gasped. “’BOOOHOOO! I didn’t think my actions would ACTUALLY have consequences for once in my fucking privileged life!’”

 

By the end of her rant, Star was practically spiting venom in Tom’s face.

 

Tom took a deep breath and decided that yelling back wouldn’t do anything but make the situation worse. Thanks years of therapy for that beautiful tidbit of information that actually came in handy!

 

“That’s not what I meant to sound like I –.”

 

“Well it came off that way.” Star interrupted. “You never seem to want to take responsibility for your actions and you ended up hurting Marco because of it, and now you’re stringing him along again! It’s not right! And Marco likes you too fucking much to get his head out of his ass and see how bad you are for him!”

 

Star was still heated, that much was obvious, but at least now she wasn’t screaming, and it seemed like for the most part she’d given up throwing things around. Or maybe she’d just run out of things to throw… Tom was going to give her the benefit of the doubt and go with the former, but deep down he knew it was the latter.

 

“I know I do all that shit,” god his mom would have a field day if she could hear all the language being thrown around right now, “but I really am working hard to stop and take responsibility. I met up with Marco yesterday and we talked all this out and he realized how much I never meant to hurt him, and I realized what a dick I was for leading him on. I’m not going to do that anymore, I just really like him Star.” Tom sighed and sat down on the mountain of crap that was now piled on his bed. “This isn’t even just about me liking Marco though, I miss the friendship we all had together. I know I messed up, Star, I really do, and I’ve already paid for it! All I’m asking for is a second chance from both of you. I’ve figured myself out, so now if I fuck anything up it really is just me being a horrible person.”

 

Star eyed him skeptically.

 

“Please,” Tom said cautiously as if approaching a rabid animal, “Just one more chance to truly prove myself.”

 

Their Mexican standoff lasted for about a minute more before Star’s loud exhale broke the silence in the room. “FIIIINNNEEEE.”

 

“Really?!” Tom’s eyes nearly popped out of his head.

 

Star flopped onto the bed pile as if worn out by being angry. “Yeah, man. Playing bad cop is _soooooo_ exhausting!” She suddenly sat up and glared at Tom so fiercely that the temperature in the room seemed to drop at least 20 degrees. “But if you do hurt Marco again, I won’t hesitate to break through your window and beat you to a pulp before you even have a chance to say ‘HEY!’ Got it?”

 

Tom gulped and nodded.

 

“GOOD! ALRIGHT LET’S GET YOU DRESSED UP!” The coldness in the room seemed to dissipate as Star jumped up and ran to Tom’s empty closet. “TOOOOOOMM!! Your room is so messy, silly! How am I supposed to pick an outfit out from all this mess?” She smiled at him with an exaggerated angelic look.

 

Tom was very, very, scared of Star now and made a mental note never to cross her ever again. Ever. Never, ever. Holy shit.

 

“Ha…” Tom managed to weakly choke out.

 

“Hmm, let’s see. Since Marco was planning on wearing a – OH WAIT! SILLY ME! IT’S A SURPRISE.” Star facepalmed before digging back into the various clothing mountains around the room. “TOM WHY DO YOU OWN SO MUCH BLACK?”

 

“It’s a nice color?”

 

Star thought for a second before nodding. “Yeah I guess it is. BUT WHERE’S ALL THE COLOR??”

 

“There is none?”

 

“Oh gosh. This may take longer than I initially anticipated.” Star winced at the mess.

 

“I mean, we only have about 12 minutes before I have to be there, and it’s a five-minute drive so…”

 

Star gasped dramatically. “ONLY SEVEN MINUTES? TOM, WE NEED A FASHION MIRACLE!”

 

“My clothes aren’t _that_ bad.”

 

Star said nothing, which spoke volumes.

 

**[From: Marco** **❤** **]**

                _Are you both still alive?_

**[From: Marco** **❤** **]**

                _And can I still count on you being alive enough to meet me at the restaurant?_

 

Marco, you have impeccable timing, my friend.

 

**[To: Marco** **❤** **]**

                still alive

**[To: Marco** **❤** **]**

 still have nothing to wear

 

 

**[From: Marco** **❤** **]**

_Well, I don’t know what kind of restaurant you think this is, but you need a shit and shoes to get in lol_

 

**[To: Marco** **❤** **]**

lmao marco i’ll definitely bring my shit w me

**[To: Marco** **❤** **]**

don’t worry

 

 

**[From: Marco** **❤** **]**

                _I meant shirt! You knew that!_

 

**[To: Marco** **❤** **]**

                i’ll bring one of those too

**[To: Marco** **❤** **]**

                don’t worry your pretty little head

 

Tom smiled, feeling confident he added:

 

**[To: Marco** **❤** **]**

                ik you’re too busy blushing to respond

 

 

**[From: Marco** **❤** **]**

                _shut up_

 

The lack of punctuation and capitalization meant Tom had been absolutely correct that Marco was flustered at the insinuation that his head was pretty.

 

“Would you stop flirting over the phone long enough to get dressed and flirt in person?” Tom looked up to see Star’s shit eating grin as she held up a complete outfit.

 

“Oh wow.”

 

“I _KNOW_ RIGHT?! YOU’RE GONNA LOOK SMOKIN’.” She threw the clothes at Tom’s head and nudged him with her elbow “Only the best for my best friend” She winked and nudged him into the closet to change.

 

Ironic, right?

 

He rushed to fit into the clothes in such a tight-fitting space, after all, he wanted to make a good impression with Marco’s parents by showing up with some semblance of time-management skills.

 

Tom popped out of the closet, metaphor anyone?, and Star squealed while fanning herself.

 

He looked like the paragon of James Dean and Marco was going to lose his shit.

 

Star had picked out a white, low-cut, V-neck shirt along with ripped blue jeans and a leather jacket and black converse to top it off. Now all Tom had to do was throw on a choker because he couldn’t _not_ look a little punk and fixed up his ruined hair. Tom quickly grabbed his phone and ran towards his front door with Star quickly following him screaming like there was a murderer chasing behind them.

 

Tom stopped to look back at Star as he headed out the door. “Thank you so much for helping me out!”

 

“No problem, sweetie!” She waved him off like a 1950’s wife would a husband who was going to work, whilst clinging to the door with one hand in a wave.

 

Tom smiled and jogged to his car.

 

Everything was looking up!

 

 

 

“Hey, wait!” Tom’s eyes bulged as he realized that Star was taking the metaphor quite literally as she slipped back into his house.

 

“STAR, DON’T LOCK THE DOOR! DUDE YOU DON’T LIVE HERE! STAR!”

 

 

 

☕♨☕

 

 

Tom eventually gave up on chasing Star down while she was running around inside and he was running around, locked out. He could deal with that later, but right now he had to make a good impression, not only for Marco’s parents, but Marco himself. This was technically their first date again and he really didn’t want to mess it up like he had last time. If it did end up like the last time, Tom would most likely become a hermit and never date again because he would obviously not be good enough at it.

 

He pulled into the parking lot just as his car’s clock struck six o’clock. Good, now he had time to calm himself and adjust his outfit before making his grand entrance.

 

The moment Tom had willed himself enough to actually walk through the doors, he was immediately blinded my multiple bone crushing hugs. “Oh, wow, this feels like a family reunion already.”

 

When the strong arms around him finally let up enough for Tom to lean back he was met with the second most handsome man he’d met in his life, the first being Marco, of course.

 

Tom’s dumbass mouth had opened before he even realized. “Holy, daddy.”

 

He swore he heard a facepalm somewhere, but it was probably just his subconscious reaffirming that- _yes_ \- he really had just fucked up that much.

 

It was deafeningly quiet. “I, uh, just meant that-“

 

“Why, yes!” The man boomed. “I am Marco’s daddy! And you must be Tom?” His dad’s Spanish accent was thick, leading Tom to believe that the innuendo was definitely lost on him.

 

Thank god. Buddha, Allah, everyone.

 

Tom laughed awkwardly. “Yeah, that’s me. This place looks really nice by the way.” Tom had been looking around, taking in the décor whilst also looking for his date who seemed to be a no show. Marco wouldn’t no show Tom in a plan of revenge at his family’s restaurant… Would he?

 

Oh shit.

 

This had all been a set up and Tom had walked right into it.

 

Tom probably deserved it though, thinking back on all the shit he put Marco through.

 

Now that he thought about it, Marco really had conceded to the date idea a little too quickly, and maybe Star had meant to lock Tom out on purpose and this whole thing was a-

 

“Thank you so much! It’s been in the family for about fifteen years now, we actually got it a little after Marco had learned his ABC’s and-“

 

Mrs. Diaz who stood smiling at his side patted her husband’s shoulder affectionately, sufficiently stopping Mr. Diaz from rambling. “Marco should be down soon, Dear. You know how men are, taking forever to get ready.” Mrs. Diaz couldn’t have been more right, Tom thought back to 20 minutes ago with Star, which snapped him out of his conspiracy theory like thoughts.

 

“That is very true.” Tom rubbed his head sheepishly, already running out of things to say to make small talk. WEATHER. There was always weather. “So, it’s super nice out today isn’t it?”

 

“I suppose, though it was raining just an hour ago or so.”

 

Well shit.

 

“You know what they say about rain though!” Tom chipped in perkily.

 

Mr. Diaz tilted his head as if to say ‘no, I don’t know, and who the hell are “they.”’

 

Well shit.

 

What did people say. Tom tried his best to recall. Ugh, It was all over people’s Instagram’s in 2012 when it was still cool to steal and post shitty quotes from google images.

 

“HA!” Tom barked out a laugh that was far too forced to play off as nonchalant. “Uh. Rainbows! You know!” He snapped his fingers as it came to him. “You can’t have a rainbow without a little rain!”

 

“Oo, I like that a lot!” Mr. Diaz exclaimed and pulled out a pad of paper, seemingly from nowhere, to write it down.

 

Score one for Tom.

 

He didn’t know if he could keep this up though, and hoped Marco would show up soon.

 

As if reading his thoughts Mrs. Diaz started towards the back of the store. “Let me go get Marco to hurry up. It’s rude to leave your date waiting for too long!” She smiled lightly at Tom, making him instantly at ease.

 

Tom turned back towards Mr. Diaz who was looking at Tom expectantly. “Do you have any more quotes?”

 

Tom smiled, oh yes, loads from his own google image quote days. Tom cracked his knuckles, and Mr. Diaz prepared his pen.

 

By the time Tom had just about run through all the ones he actually remembered, excluding the cursed image ‘I had a cookie but I eated it,’ when Marco finally made an appearance and Tom was dumbstruck. He was frozen, still holding a waning finger to Mr. Diaz, seeing as he was previously in the middle of making a point to him, with his head turned to Marco, jaw dropped.

 

“Woah.”

 

Marco blushed and looked at his Ked ridden feet, not used to all the attention being on him at once. “You like it?”

 

‘It?’ Did he mean how beautiful and amazing and sweet and nice and gorgeous and did he mention beautiful Marco was? _Oh, he means his outfit!_  Tom thought before mentally smacking himself in the head. It was then that Tom took the time to appreciate what Marco was wearing: a short-sleeved flowy, navy, white and yellow flowered romper that made Marco go from a 12/10 to, like, an 100/10.               

 

Marco had legs for days and _damn_ did he know how to prove it.

 

“Yeah, uh, definitely. Yes.” Tom nodded his head vigorously.

 

Tom’s jaw was still dropped apparently, and Mr. Diaz kindly shut it for him and gently guided Marco and him to a patio table outback.

 

By the time Tom had gotten out of his stupor, he noticed that the table was adorned with cute little tea-light candles and beautiful, freshly-picked tulips in a small vase. The patio was gated off by bushes of chrysanthemums and other flowers, as well as a gated fence with fairy lights He noticed that Marco was definitely checking him out as well, making Tom sit up straighter in his seat.

 

“You look amazing, Marco.” Tom finally said, cheeks warm, not sure if he’d already mentioned it earlier.

 

“You do too. I’ve never seen you in stuff that isn’t from Hot Topic.” Marco smirked.

 

“Jokes on you, buddy.” Tom made a sweeping motion to his outfit. “All of this is Hot Topic. Don’t deny that you don’t like my style.”

 

Marco laughed. “Fine, then, I won’t deny that I don’t like you style.”

 

“Wait!” Tom screeched jokingly, seeing as his previous sentence backfired. “You know what I meant, you cheeky little shi-“ Tom cut himself off as Mrs. Diaz came by to take their order.

 

“What are you guys feeling tonight?” She asked, not bothering to pull out a pad of paper to jot their order on.

 

Tom hadn’t even had a chance to look at the menu before Marco was already ordering for the both of them, which was super cute, and Tom may or may not have been blushing. “We’ll both have the mole, right Tom?”

 

Tom nodded along. “Uh, yeah. Definitely… Sounds good. Yup!” Marco could’ve ordered them both Ox balls and Tom still would’ve eaten it.

 

Hell, Marco could feed him grass or sewage and Tom still wouldn’t care.

 

“Oh, god, that sounded really bossy, but I just remember last time we talked about you trying my family’s mole because it was good and you’d never tried it and I just realized you probably don’t remember that and now I look like a huge douchebag. Ugh.” Marco slumped in his seat and Tom began to laugh at his rambling, which reminded him of Mr. Diaz’s own just a while earlier.

 

It seemed like Tom wasn’t the only one scared of messing up the date if Marco’s constant fidgeting and rambling was anything to go by, and that somehow made Tom relax a little more.

 

“Dude, no. Marco, no, I didn’t think that at all.” Tom reassured him. “I didn’t forget I was just still caught up in your cute outfit.”

 

Marco rolled his eyes. “Boys these days.”

 

Tom gasped, pretending to be scandalized. “You are on a date with this boy, mister.”

 

Marco feigned looking at his nails. “Hmm, am I really?”

 

“Yes, and your dumb date thinks you look super cute and deserve to be ogled at.” Tom said, leaning forwards.

 

Marco’s façade dropped as he laughed. “Shush. If anyone here deserves to be ogled at, it’s you. You look like such a bad boy right now, I kind of like it.”

 

Tom wiggled his eyebrows and Marco laughed again.

 

“How come I only look like a bad boy? Am I not actually a bad boy?”

 

“No, you’re a big softy.” Marco snorted as his mom put down two glasses of water and a couple of Mexican sodas.

 

“Thank you, Mrs. Diaz.” Tom said, trying to move things out of the way to make it easier to set things down.

 

She pinched his cheek lightly. “You’re too sweet.” She looked at both of them. “Your dinners will be out soon, try not to eat each other while you wait!”

 

Marco groaned. “Mom, that sounded so wrong.”

 

Tom choked on his water. “Marco, get your head out of the gutter.”

 

Mrs. Diaz laughed appreciatively. “Yes, listen to your boyfriend!” She patted them both on their back before leaving.

 

Tom and Marco stared tentatively at each other, hearing the word boyfriend.

 

Tom cleared his throat. “I think she likes me. I don’t know how or why, but I think she does.” He struggled with the bottle opener and Marco gently took it from him, opening the bottles for them instead.

 

“Of course she likes you, dummy.” Marco handed Tom his soda.

 

They both did a small cheer with their bottles of Coca-Cola. “To being young and having crushes on very cute guys who look amazing in rompers and skirts!”

 

Marco let out a guttural laugh that caused a few occupants on the patio to turn around at the noise, and Tom himself let out an amused snort. “I’m just cheering to the truth.”

 

“Tom stop making me laugh so hard. If these tears ruin my concealer, I’ll eat all your food while you watch.” Marco threw his straw wrapper at Tom, reminding him of their not-so-first date.

 

“Sounds kinky.”

 

“TOM!”

 

More customers looked over at them, but Marco ignored them in favor of returning the toast. “To having crushes on bad-boy looking softies who have dirty senses of humor.”

 

“Cheers!” They clanked their soda together before moving onto the subject of school and the crazy amount of summer homework they were given.

 

“It’s like they never want you to relax! If you’re not constantly thinking about school, you’re going to fail!” Marco ranted. “I have three books to read and write essays on along with another book to read and note for Spanish class, and _don’t_ get me started on all of the AP Environmental Science work I still have to do. Two whole packets, Tom! TWO!”

 

“I can help you with your AP Environmental Science.”

 

“Really?” Marco looked up at Tom hopefully.

 

“Yeah, I took it last year, so it’s still sort of fresh in my mind.”

 

“¡Ay, Dios mío! Tom, you’re a life-saver.” Marco practically jumped across the table to hug Tom who was suddenly glad he hadn’t dropped that class last year like he’d planned to.

 

“No problem. What kind of ‘boyfriend’ would I be if I didn’t help you out once in a while?” Tom said cheekily, causing Marco to snort at the use of boyfriend.

 

Marco suddenly kissed Tom on the cheek, pulling back quickly as if he hadn’t actually meant to do it, but he didn’t mention it as he sat back down. Tom was going to play it off and change the subject so Marco wouldn’t feel embarrassed (and maybe feel more inclined to do it later) but Mrs. Diaz came back and delivered their meals before Tom could do anything. Marco seemed to temporarily forget about this chaste kiss as the hot food was placed before them. “This looks so good. Tom you’re going to love this! My dad made it especially good for you!”

 

It sure as hell smelled good.

 

 It looked like some sort of blackish sauce over chicken and rice. Tom forgot what Marco said the sauce was, but like Tom said before, he would honestly eat sewage if Marco was into that kind of thing, and this dish looked a billion times better than sewage, hell, it looked better than pizza, and that was saying something. Marco sat across from him, urging him to try it, and Tom gladly indulged, stuffing his face with the foreign food.

 

And holy hell, Marco wasn’t kidding when he said Tom would love it if the moans coming out of his mouth weren’t telling enough.

 

Marco flushed and laughed at Tom. “That good huh?”

 

Tom was too busy shoveling more of the mole in his mouth to fully respond, but Marco guessed that the garbled syllables were in agreement.

 

“God, I can’t take you anywhere now can I?” Tom rolled his eyes, but wiped his mouth and slowed his eating.

 

“If anything, you should take me out more.”

 

Marco rolled his eyes. “Definitely. You know, if I didn’t know any better, I’d think you liked the food more than you like me.” He did a fake pouty face that Tom couldn’t help but laugh at.

 

Placing a hand over his heart, Tom swore with fake sincerity. “I promise that I would never choose this mole over you, Marco. You have my word.”

 

Marco mimicked Tom, placing his own hand over his heart. “I can now sleep at night. Thank you for the reassurance, Tom.”

 

They finished their meal with random conversations, mainly about Love Sentence, but only after the patio had been deserted because no, they were not about to scream about the new album while there were still paying customers around. Tom nearly shit his pants when Marco mentioned an art exhibit opening up a few blocks away, saying that they should go to the opening in a few days when Tom got off work.

 

Good, this is so good, was all Tom could think!

 

Not only had Marco forgiven him and given him a second chance, but now he also wanted to have a second date, maybe a third, and fourth, and marriage? No? Too fast?  Everything was shifting for the better: Star didn’t hate him, Marco didn’t hate him, Marco’s parents _really_ didn’t hate Tom, and also, there was amazing food involved somewhere in this whole predicament. Food, and lots and lots of coffee.

 

The summer night shifted with the wind above them, and the moon began poking out from the passing clouds above, the patio now lit with small twinkling lights and the glow of the moon above.

 

A strange, but welcomed peace settled onto Tom, and his face reflected it, while Marco sat across from him with the same dopey expression.

 

**[Suddenly, startling the living shit out of Tom and Marco, the outdoor speakers sputtered to life, producing garbled radio station flipping before finally settling on a station and becoming clearer.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=naAC37W42ro) **

 

A resounding trumpet began playing and Marco blushed before standing and reaching for Tom’s hand.

 

“Marco what-“ Tom asked as he was swept into Marco’s arms- not like he was complaining- thoroughly confused.

 

“Wanna dance?” Marco seemed confident and squeamish at the same time.

 

All Tom could do was nod dumbly.

 

Marco placed his hand on Tom’s back, and in turn, Tom placed his own on Marco’s shoulder before their free hands met and interlocked. Tom’s heart began racing at their close proximity, and he could feel Marco’s doing the same from beneath his romper.

 

“You know I can’t dance for shit, right?” Tom choked out as he began to shuffle his feet awkwardly. “I mean, my parents signed me up for dance classes when I was younger and all but, WOAH!” Tom’s rambling was interrupted by Marco twirling him around.

 

The song was pretty slow paced, but it was fast enough that Tom was utterly lost in how to move. The song was also definitely in Spanish. Tom had taken enough Spanish classes to have a general idea of what was being sang, but the key word there was ‘general.’

 

“Is this a love poem?” Tom asked and Marco laughed with his head lifted to the moon before resting his head on Tom’s shoulder.

 

“Basically, yeah. It’s a really famous love song from way back in the day.” Tom felt Marco shrug his shoulders.

 

As the song progressed, Tom felt himself melt into Marco, allowing the huge grin he’d been trying to suppress to show. Marco was perfect. From the spicy smell of his cologne to his perfectly neat hair, his long-lashed honeyed eyes, all the way down to his strong, gentle hands, and swift feet. Marco was an angel in disguise, the perfect guy, a human paragon of Aphrodite.

 

He was himself, and Tom liked that.

 

All the nerdy shyness, his heated moments, his sassy comebacks, his compassionate nature.

 

Marco wasn’t perfect by any means, but to Tom, Marco was pretty damn close to it.

 

Marco began to shift, and their steps, well Marco’s steps and Tom’s fumbles, grew in pace, and he twisted Tom outward before capturing him once again in a tight embrace. Both their faces mere centimeters apart, both flushed with mouths parted, panting at the previous excursion as if they’d ran a ten-mile race. Tom’s heart was beating out of his chest, and he hoped Marco couldn’t feel it, though, seeing as they were pressed up so close together, he doubted Marco couldn’t feel it.

 

“I like it.” Tom said, interrupting the quiet moment, referring to Marco’s previous statement. “I like you.” He added bashfully.

 

Marco’s eyes looked imploringly into Tom’s own before widening. His steps stuttered before stopping completely. The song still playing from the speakers was the only true noise in the starkly quiet night.

 

Marco was like a summer morning, a strong, refreshing breeze that cuts through the sticky heat, his voice was as melodic as a guitar strumming out into the still silence of night; Marco was the smell of fresh rain that drove Tom crazy, he was the promise of happiness, of excitement. Marco was that constant warmth of a smile in Tom’s heart. Okay, maybe Tom had been listening to too many old Spanish songs since their fight, but honestly Marco was all of these things and more, like a shit ton more because Tom’s level of 6th grade poetry couldn’t even begin to explain the feelings, and the jumpiness in his stomach that Marco gave him.

 

Pulse pounding, thoughts racing, Tom slowly leaned in, giving Marco time to pull away. Marco exhaled sharply through his mouth, as if struck by lightning, which honestly could’ve been something that happened with all the invisible electricity snapping around them. The moment went static as they both stood gazing into each other’s eyes, not sure whether to lean in or to run and hide.

 

Toms eyes slowly slid shut as he closed the distance between his lips and Marco’s, feeling Marco’s eyelashes flutter against his cheeks.

 

At first it was stiff and unsure.

 

Tom kept his hands lightly on Marco’s chest, while Marco’s laid rigidly at Tom’s hips.

 

The light pressure of Marco’s lips suddenly disappeared, causing Tom to open his eyes only to shut them moments later as Marco quickly moved his hands from Tom’s hips to his cheeks, pulling him in for a deeper kiss.

 

“Mmf!” Tom exclaimed in surprise at Marco’s newfound boldness.

 

Tom blushed as their lips meshed and molded together in an odd dance that somehow resembled the jumbled steps they’d danced not moments before. Marco didn’t deepen the kiss, but he did tilt his head to keep his nose from bumping Tom’s as their kiss progressed.

 

Their teeth clacked a few times more than most kisses usually did, but all Tom could think about was how amazing this moment was. Here in Marco’s arms, feeling the radiating energy and sparks from their naivety and innocence shooting into the night like fireworks. Their lips slitting together, Marco’s hands moving to comb through Tom’s hair, and Tom’s hands clenched and wrinkling Marco’s romper: this is what exuberance summer crushes brought, and Tom couldn’t imagine it with anyone else.

 

Marco was his, and he was Marco’s.

 

Tom doesn’t know if he’ll mess up in the future, but right now, in this moment, everything is right, and that _feels_ right. He knows know that Marco deserves better than him, and every day Tom promises to strive to be the best version of himself that he can, just so someday, maybe, just maybe, he’ll be able to make Marco feel as elated and electrified as he’s making Tom feel right here, right now.

 

They continued dancing well after the song had ended, holding each other in a comforting embrace, stealing chaste kisses as the night stars twinkled above them.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope it was worth the wait, and i hope it was all you expected and possibly more??? leave me comments on what you think especially of the ending scene with the song!
> 
>  
> 
> **if you draw anything or do something for this fic make sure to tag me on tumblr @ my new url webwrecker so i can see it and cry over how amazing it is!**
> 
>  
> 
> thank you to every single person who's read this/commented/bookmarked/kudos/drawn ANYTHING it makes my day a shit ton better. you are all amazing and i hope to write for this fandom again so keep an eye out!
> 
>  **EDIT: 11/9/2017:** so this fic has over 600 kudos!! to celebrate I'm going to be working on a series of oneshots to add to this fic **comment or send me ideas in the comments/on tumblr for things you'd like to see in the one shots!**


	7. Extras: You're BeauTEAful

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> drabble one: Marco sees Tom without his colored contacts for the first time  
> aka self love is hard to learn, but it gets easier when you have a loving boyfriend

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Warnings: self deprecation, self doubt, anxiety, body issues**
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> so i got this prompt a few days ago and i ran with it... probably not what they were expecting... but hey! **ALSO IMPORTANT:** for these drabbles i'll only add warnings and tags in the beginning notes instead of the main ones because these are drabbles so please pay attention to the warnings and tags
> 
>  
> 
>  send me more drabble ideas below in the comments or on tumblr @ [webwrecker](http://webwrecker.tumblr.com/)  
> 

Tom had always been self-conscious of his looks to the point where all of his insecurities had been buried so deep down that he’d nearly forgotten about them. Key word is nearly.

 

Ugly, plain brown hair? No problem, he could fix that with hair dye.

 

Gross, stubby nails? Easy. Nail polish covered most of that insecurity up.

 

Oddly pointed teeth? All Tom had to do was refrain from smiling.

 

Weird green alien eyes? Colored contacts had Tom’s back.

 

All of these things and features about himself, Tom had gradually hidden throughout the years. Even more so in high school where all the kids seemed like they had something to say about his appearance on the daily.

 

Tom pretended like their comments didn’t get to him, but they did.

 

When people started making fun of the way his new modifications Tom had gotten to cover up his insecurities, it felt like his heart had been ripped out of his chest. He’d listened when his classmates told him he looked gangly and plain, when they’d told him he was just ‘okay’ looking, when they’d said he was a nobody.

 

He thought if he stood out it would make people like him again, but instead they all turned on him and called him a weirdo, leaving him to eat alone in the cafeteria. People accused him of being goth and emo when Tom didn’t even know what that meant.

 

Tom sighed, looking back at his reflection in the mirror.

 

The brown roots of his hair were steadily taking over the fading pink, and his mom forgot to reorder his contacts so for the past few days he’d been forced to put back in the same pair of daily contacts. His green eyes stared at him pathetically from behind the glass. Tom looked a mess.

 

It was going to be one of those days, he supposed.

 

With Marco it wasn’t so bad now though.

 

Tom knew Marco had insecurities of his own, which helped in a fucked-up kind of way, but Tom’s problems were rooted so deeply in who he was and how he grew up, his suppression made him believe maybe his confidence issues were just a ploy to get attention like his classmates accused him of.

 

He ran an exhausted hand through his bed ridden hair and opened his phone to text Marco.

 

 **[To: Marco** **❤** **]**

can u comeover pls

 

He and Marco had been dating for five months now, and in this time Tom had only had one breakdown like this before, okay maybe two. The first time it happened had been right after their not-so-first date, but that was a different kind of breakdown than this one.

 

The first actual breakdown like this one he’d had had been three months after their first actual date when Tom had had a nightmare that Marco had broken up with him after he’d seen what Tom had looked like without his mods. Embarrassingly enough, Tom hadn’t realized it was just a dream and had called Marco crying at 4 in the morning asking him to take him back which resulted in Marco staying over at his house the following night.

 

Marco had come bearing video games and lots of food for them to eat and talk about their feelings. It was honestly one of the most mentally exhausting nights Tom had ever had, but it was also one of the best because he got to share it with someone he loved. Marco had calmed him down with assuring kisses and tender touches way into the night and only stopped when they both tired out from all the night’s activities.

 

Tom knew that tonight would most likely be different, even though his parents were out of town again, but Marco probably wasn’t going to want to spend the night when he saw how much of a mess Tom was.

 

 **[From: Marco** **❤** **]**

_Are you okay?_

**[From: Marco** **❤** **]**

_Is anyone hurt?_

**[To: Marco** **❤** **]**

yeah my dumbass

 

Marco responded seconds later.

 

 **[From: Marco** **❤** **]**

_Do you need to fo to the hospital???_

**[From: Marco** **❤** **]**

_Omg I’m gond . To CALL your parents holdon I’ll meet you at the hostpital .._

 

Marco’s typing was going haywire, meaning he was currently freaking the hell out, but he was texting faster than Tom could type out that no one was actually in any danger.

 

 **[To: Marco** **❤** **]**

WAIT MARCO NO ONES IN ANY DANGER DON’T CLAL PLS

 

This time Marco took longer to reply, making Tom nervous.

 

 **[From: Marco** **❤** **]**

_I’m confused. What’s going on?_

**[To: Marco** **❤** **]**

i’m having a baf day and I want to c ur perfect face

**[From: Marco** **❤** **]**

_Tom next time just text that so I don’t trip over my phone cord trying to call 911._

**[From: Marco** **❤** **]**

_I think I broke my toe :’(_

****

**[To: Marco** **❤** **]**

come over n i’ll kiss it better

**[From: Marco** **❤** **]**

_Foot fetish much?_

****

**[To: Marco** **❤** **]**

shtu up and come over

**[From: Marco** **❤** **]**

_That wasn’t a very chivalrous way of asking_

Tom was honestly so exhausted and all he wanted was to see his boyfriend. Any other day he’d love to have this kind of banter with Marco, but Tom was drained and felt like the shittiest scum on earth.

**[From: Marco** **❤** **]**

_But I’ll still come because I love your face :)_

Tom sighed and fell back on his bed, waiting for Marco to walk up the steps and magically make everything better.

**[From: Marco** **❤** **]**

thanks the door is unlocked just come up when you get her e i can drive u home later

 

It felt like an eternity later, but eventually Tom heard his front door open and shut with a lock before he heard the tentative yet worried footsteps of Marco coming up the stairs.

 

“You know, it’s not really safe to leave your house unlocked while your parents are out and you’re alone.” Marco lectured Tom when he’d made it into the messy room.

 

Tom was still stretched out on his bed, which was surprisingly made, with his arms tucked securely behind his head. He kept his eyes shut because his eyes were still heavy with exhaustion.

 

“You sound like my mom.” He couldn’t see it, but he knew Marco was rolling his eyes.

 

He felt a weight on his bed before feeling Marco mold his body against Tom’s own. Tom peeked an eye open to see that Marco had also closed his eyes, the only noise in the room came from Tom’s open window where one of the neighbors was busy moving their lawn in the last flickers of sunlight.

 

Tom rubbed circles into the bare skin between Marco’s signature hoodie and jeans, not wanting to break their silence just yet. Just being in Marco’s presence was enough to calm Tom down from doing anything drastic like he’d been thinking earlier.

 

Marco nuzzled his head into Tom’s neck and gently whispered into it, his soft breath tickled Tom. “So why exactly am I here?”

 

“Don’t you like hanging out with me?” Tom weakly questioned, trying to come off sarcastic, but instead coming off pathetic.

 

“Of course I do, but you said you were hurt.” Marco sat up and Tom could feel those delicious honey brown eyes on him.

 

“I’m just not feeling too hot today.” Tom shrugged a little.

 

Marco huffed at his short response. “Are you contagious?”

 

Tom knew he was being a bit of a dick by calling Marco over here and then not telling him why, but now that Marco was actually here, Tom felt like his problems were so miniscule in the grand scheme of things. Maybe Tom had just done it because he wanted Marco’s attention. Though, deep down he knew that wasn’t true, he couldn’t help but think about it.

 

“Not unless hating yourself is contagious.” Marco gasped.

 

“Oh, Tom.” Now Tom really couldn’t open his eyes and see how he’d upset Marco again.

 

Eventually Tom’s shoulders began to shake and shudder and tears leaked out of his steel clenched eyes. His arms removed themselves from under his head and moved to cover his ugly sobbing face.

 

“I just really don’t like myself right now is all.” Tom stuttered through hiccups and snot. What a beauty he truly was.

 

Marco quickly got up and brought him a box of tissues from the bathroom before enveloping him into a gut wrenchingly tight hug. “How long have you been feeling like this?”

 

“Just,” Tom huffed and began hiccupping again when he thought of all the horrible things people had told him ever since he was young. “Forever, I guess.”

 

Marco removed himself from the hug, keeping Tom close he lifted Tom’s head up to meet his own. “Tom, look at me.” Tom was too busy trying not to snot all over his boyfriend so it took a bit of effort to comply. His eyes felt crusty and gross when they finally opened again.

 

 

“Tom, I,” Marco paused for a second, looking deeply into Tom’s eyes. Tom shifted his gaze down uncomfortably when he realized he’d forgotten to put his colored contacts in. This was the first time that Marco had officially seen Tom without his contacts, and now Tom truly knew that Marco was going to leave him and his strangely colored alien eyes. “Your eyes are beautiful, why haven’t you shown them to me before?”

 

It was then that Tom broke down and told Marco everything, from the beginning of middle school up until last week when a few guys from their school had called him some unsavory names and spilled their coffee on one of his favorite shirts.

 

“Tom, I know I can’t make you love yourself, and I think you know that too.” Marco caressed his cheek as Tom rubbed away his tears that had yet begun to cease. “I hope you know, though, that I’ll love you no matter how you look. That’s not something that’s important to me, I love you because of your wild and caring personality. I love the way you go out of your way for others, I love how you make me feel and I love how you’ve changed me as a person.”

 

“Really?” Tom managed to reply meekly.

 

“Definitely.” Marco nodded quickly. “And I love how you’re strong enough to call people when you need help instead of working through it alone.”

 

“I’m so glad you’re my boyfriend.” Tom sniffed with a small smile and buried his face into Marco’s hoodie.

 

“Hey, that’s my line.” Marco joked, running his hands through Tom’s soft hair. “Now how about we go get some ice cream and I kick your ass at Mario Kart?”

 

Tom giggled. “I can’t believe you cursed.”

 

“Oh, but you can believe that I’m going to kick your butt at Mario Kart?” Marco kissed the top of Tom’s head.

 

“It’s on, Diaz.” Tom popped off the bed, nearly knocking into Marco’s nose. “I CALL TOAD!” He screamed as he zipped down the stairs, leaving a laughing Marco in his wake.

 

They both knew that these problems weren’t going away anytime soon, and that no amount of love or nurturing would ever truly make them go away, but they had each other and great friends to help along the way.

 

Oh, and Mario Kart.

 

Mario Kart was also always there.

 

Marco leaned in and slowly kissed away the last of Tom's anxiety, one hand gently, yet persistently on Tom's slender neck, and the other on Tom's thigh. 

 

No, it definitely wasn't always going to be this easy, but for now, Marco was all Tom could ever hope for.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the second time I’ve written any kind of angst and definitely the first time ive written comforting so let me know what you guys thought
> 
> remember to leave comments with new drabbles and letting me know what you thought of it/ any mistakes because i don't have a beta and i pounded this out in 2 hours lmao COMMENTS ARE MY LIFE THEY MAKE ME WRITE MORE  
>  


	8. Extras: Espresso your Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> rated M for mature themes: their first time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **WARNINGS: Rated M for mature scenes of sexual content, sexual language and lots of secondhand embarrassment**
> 
>  
> 
> **PLEASE READ CHAPTER WARNINGS BEFORE CONTINUING**
> 
>  
> 
> the first time is always awkward and not sexy at all and I really wanted to keep up the tone throughout this whole fic steady and to whip out some kinky shit would’ve felt weird. 
> 
> Anyways I hope you guys understand and maybe even enjoy this a bit more than pornstar quality smut??? if not see the end notes bc then i have a treat for you

Tom and Marco had started their relationship off on a rough start, so the steps in their relationship were being taken in tiny baby steps. A snail’s pace in the form of tiny baby steps. Steps the size of bacteria. Very tiny, slow steps.

 

Point is, even though they were trying to take small steps, they were also hormonal teenage boys that were eventually going to escalate their relationship further. After all, there was only so much making out they could do before they felt like they should take it to the next level.

 

Marco had come over earlier that day for a sleepover, and while it started out innocently with small kisses in between Super Smash Bro wins, it quickly developed into something heavier, with hands going lower than they ever had before. It was no secret that Tom was a huge virgin, and it definitely wasn’t a secret that Marco was one as well, so they needed to be sure that this was exactly what each other wanted.

 

This was how Tom ended up in the health section of CVS at the godforsaken hour of 11, having snuck out of his house before his parents could wake up and ask him where he was headed to. He’d been forced to take a reproductive health classes last year as a junior, but, of course, there was one small problem with his health class: he and Marco weren’t a straight couple, and, therefore, half the shit they learned wouldn’t even apply to them.

 

Looking down the extensive isle that seemed to ominously grow in length as the minutes ticked by, Tom realized he actually had no idea what to be looking for. Okay, obviously he needed condoms, but there were so many kinds with bizarre terminology that went straight over his head. Did he have a magnum dong, or just a pony dong? What even was the difference between the two? Tom had never seen a pony in real life, but he assumed if it could fit over a tiny horse, than that meant it was definitely not that small.

 

Tom sighed and wished Marco had come with him like he’d insisted because Marco was probably more educated and had decided to take  notes in health class. Hell, maybe Marco had stayed after class to ask about gay sex.

 

Damn, Tom was really lost.

 

Eventually he closed his eyes and picked the first box of condoms his hand touched which just so happened to proudly state it was ‘ribbed for her pleasure’ whatever the hell that meant. Tom exhaled, feeling relieved before realizing he still had to pick out lube.

 

Tom turned around in the isle and wanted to faint when he saw an even larger selection of lube.

 

He ran a disgruntled hand through his hair and picked up the first non-edible lube he could find and booked it out of the isle before he could run into someone he knew. To be safe he drove to the CVS in the next town over to ensure he wouldn’t see anyone from school, but he really doubted any of them would pay attention even if they’d seen him.

 

Finally, with lube and gigantic, manly condoms in hand, Tom made his way to the check out desk, nearly tripping when he realized that the cashier was going to see, and touch the things he was buying. Oh, god. Marco definitely owed him after this.

 

He slowly placed his items on the counter and slid them over to the bored looking cashier.

 

“Will this be all for you today, sir?” She asked, beginning to scan the lube.

 

Tom cleared his throat and pretended to dig around in his wallet for his credit card even though it was visibly in sight. “Yes, thank you.”

 

The cashier seemed to have trouble scanning the condoms, to the point where she had to call the manager up to the front to manually insert the barcode into the computer.

 

Tom’s face couldn’t have been more red. He was so mortified, and he couldn’t help but notice a small queue lined up behind him of customers looking at what was going on.

 

Marco _definitely_ owed him for going out and doing this.

 

Finally the item scanned, causing Tom to practically throw his card at the poor cashier just so he could escape back to the safety of Marco.

 

“Have a good night, sir.” She said, seeming somewhat entertained at Tom’s now permanently red face.

 

“You too.” Tom muttered, grabbing the bag out of her hand with his head down.

 

Tom rushed to his car and flew across the intersection, running on adrenaline and embarrassment. The normally 10 minute car ride had shortened to a mere 5 minutes with how fast Tom had been going. Marco would lecture him if he found out how much Tom had been speeding on the way back, but what Marco didn’t know wouldn’t kill him.

 

Tom quietly slipped back into the house and headed down the steps to the basement where he and Marco had camped out with all their video games and snacks for their sleepover tonight. However, it seemed like this sleepover wouldn’t include much sleeping with all the trouble Tom had gone through to get their supplies.

 

The first thing Tom saw was Marco lying across the couch with only his boxers and one of Tom’s largest shirts that his grandma had bought him three years ago somehow thinking that it would fit him, but he’d yet to grow into it yet. It fit Marco deliciously though, making Tom glad he hadn’t gotten rid of like he’d planned to.

 

“Oh, hey you’re back.” Marco said with a raspy voice riddled with sleep.

 

Tom laughed quietly. “Thank god.” Tom pushed Marco’s legs apart so he could settle between them and lay his head on Marco’s stomach. “You won’t believe the night I’ve just had.”

 

“What could’ve possibly happened in 35 minutes?” Marco asked with amusement in his eyes. He seemed much more awake than he had when Tom first came in, leading Tom to believe Marco had a short nap while Tom was out having his dignity torn apart.

 

“I’ll tell you later, but now…” Tom trailed off and wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, causing Marco to giggle.

 

“Do you even know how to use these?” Marco asked jokingly, holding up a single condom packet.

 

Tom crossed his arms. “Well of course I do.”

 

“Putting it on a banana doesn’t count, mi amor.” Marco’s smile had yet to leave his face.

 

“Back at you, mister ‘I’m a virgin too.’” Tom snatched the condom out of Marco’s hand with a wicked smile.

 

Marco threw back his head and laughed. “Oh my god, we’re definitely adults.” He said sarcastically.

 

“Definitely.” Tom agreed with fake earnest. “Now help me put this fucker on.”

 

Marco began laughing again. “You have to… you know… first.”

 

“I have to what?” Tom questioned as Marco flipped their positions so that he was on top instead of Tom.

 

“You have to get the mood back. Haven’t you watched any porn before?”

 

Tom raised an eyebrow. “Marco, I figured out I was bi like three months ago.”

 

“So?” Marco motioned for him to continue.

 

“Of course I have.” Tom bit his lip. “Well, not all the way through yet, but I’ve tried.”

 

Marco gave him an assured smile. “Then let me take care of you, okay?”

 

Tom gulped when he looked into Marco’s loving eyes. “Uh, um. Yes. Yeah. That sounds good.”

 

Marco nodded and began kissing Tom slowly. Spotify was still pulled up on the computer across the room from their earlier make out session and continued playing random songs on Marco’s playlist. They, of course, picked Marco’s playlist because Tom’s was filled with a bunch of depressing songs.

 

His hands drifted slowly into Tom’s hair, scratching lightly at his scalp, causing Tom to let out a breathy moan.

 

The mood was definitely back.

 

Tom’s hands moved teasingly down Marco’s back, slowly lifting up the red shirt before getting ride of it completely. He could feel his heart beating loudly in anticipation at what was about to go down. He could feel his blood pooling and pulse pounding in his nether regions, something he’d originally tried to hide from Marco by distancing his crotch from Marco’s knee then realized that the whole point of the embarrassing trip to CVS was to get Marco to see him hard.

 

The kissing became more intense as Marco’s tongue travelled into Tom’s mouth, slowly flicking at his own before scraping it gently with his front teeth. They broke apart giving Tom the ability to suck bruises into Marco’s tanned collarbones.

 

Marco made a move to take off Tom’s shirt and Tom momentarily panicked.

 

He truly was a dumbass for not having realized that sex meant Marco would see him naked. Something that no one else had ever seen before. Oh, shit, Tom thought, realizing that Marco honestly had no idea about how Tom felt about himself. The hardening in his jeans was quickly depleting and Marco quickly realized this.

 

“Tom, what’s wrong?” Marco looked down at him with such concerned eyes that Tom almost felt bad lying to him.

 

“Uh, nothing. I just keep thinking we’re going to get caught.” He manages to choke out, knowing full well that his parents are two floors above them on the other side of the house.

 

Marco nods and goes back to kissing down his neck, once again reaching to pull up Tom’s shirt. This time Tom accidently makes a noise. Tom tried to play it off like a moan, but quickly realize this could only go on for so long before Marco eventually caught on.

 

God, why did his insecurities have to catch up to him now?

 

Marco was in the middle of leaving a nasty hickey on Tom’s neck, still attempting to ease off his shirt when Tom sat up suddenly. “Marco, stop.”

 

“What’s wrong?” Marco asked, backing off immediately with worry in his eyes.

 

“I, uh. I can’t do this.” Tom said.

 

“That’s fine we can just play video games instead. I don’t care.” Marco tried to appease him.

 

“No, it’s not that I don’t want to,” Tom paused, wringing his hands together nervously. “I’m just. HOO, okay.” Tom let’s out a nervous chuckle. “I’m really self-conscious. Like a lot. No one has ever seen me without my shirt and I don’t want to disgust you.”

 

“Tom, mi amor.” Marco caresses Tom’s face, which had steadily begun leaking tears. “You could never disgust me. Well, okay, it’s kind of disgusting when you put sugar in your burrito like star does, but you, your body could never disgust me. Do you really think me so shallow?” Marco asked with earnest fear.

 

“NO!” Tom quickly shook his head. “No, no, no. Marco, no it’s not that I think you’re shallow it’s just a lot of mental things for me right now.”

 

Marco nodded and began kissing away his tears one by one.  “I’m self-conscious about myself too, you know?”

 

“What? But Marco, you’re perfect. You’re the most beautiful person I’ve ever seen in, like, my entire life.”

 

“Tom, that’s how I feel about you too.” Marco kissed him chastely on the mouth. “We’re both so insecure that we can’t see what each other sees.”

 

Tom sniffled and nodded, realizing the truth in Marco’s words was hard, putting them into practice was going to be even harder. Damn, Tom really wished he had a manual on how to overcome his insecurities. Hearing Marco had them made him feel even more shitty for not realizing he had them earlier, but then he realized Marco was probably feeling the same he was right now.

 

If he was to let anyone see him, birthday suit and all, it would be Marco. He was the most understanding, beautiful, nice human being Tom had yet to meet, and he couldn’t help but feel that he liked him in a way that leaned more towards the word love.

 

Tom nodded to himself, and with a pep talk began to kiss Marco again. This time instead of rushed and heated it was slow and sultry, savoring every single thing about Marco. “I think I’m ready to continue now.”

 

Marco pulled away. “We don’t have to. I can go grab my pajamas right now and we can make a pillow fort or something.”

 

Tom paused, contemplating. “No, I want to go through with this. That is, if you want to too?” Marco nodded with a small smile and Tom nodded back. “But we’re definitely making that pillow fort after.”

 

“Definitely.” Marco agreed.

 

Marco reached back over to remove Tom’s shirt before slowly trailing loving kisses down every inch of his stomach. “You’re beautiful, Tom.”

 

Tom blushed at the praise and his face behind his arm. His moan became muffled as Marco began circling the hardening nubs of Tom’s nipples. His pants were becoming tighter once again, and instead of waiting for Marco to help guide him out of them, he kicked them off before it could get tighter.

 

There Tom was, barren in front of the person of his current affection, and while his nerves were going off the rails, he knew he could trust Marco. The pleasure was winning out against his insecurities as Marco began to trail lower into the light brown pubic hair that trailed out from Tom’s black boxers.

 

“Tell me if you want to stop or if something hurts, okay?” Marco loomed right above the tent in Tom’s boxers.

 

“Marco, I thought you said you were a virgin. How the hell do you know so much?” Tom questioned jokingly, but secretly did want to know how he learned all of this.

 

“Would you like me to detail my internet search history and ruin the mood or do you want me to suck your dick?” Tom’s eyes widened to the size of dinner plates hearing Marco say such vulgar things so innocently.

 

“Do you really have to ask?” Marco laughed at Tom’s dazed gaze and began mouthing over the cloth. Tom didn’t know what to do with himself except moan loudly, trying not to buck up into Marco’s face.

 

“Was that okay?” Marco asked after leaving a significant wet spot on the front of Tom’s underwear.

 

“You know, if you keep this up I’m going to come the second these boxers come off.” Tom said partially joking, partially warning.

 

Marco giggled while he carefully stepped out of his boxers, and by carefully Tom means Marco wobbled around on the couch trying to kick them off. Tom laughed at Marco struggling to get the piece of offending fabric off of himself while his dick, miraculously still hard bobbed in front of him.

 

Tom’s laughter slowly faded out when he realized where Marco’s rather large dick was about to go and nervously gulped. Maybe he really should have considered the pony sized condoms.

 

“Ha! There we go.” Marco declared victoriously as he threw his boxers off, reaching to slide off Tom’s own with much greater success.

 

“You, uh.” Tom cleared his throat and shifted on the couch. “You definitely have a very nice, you know… very nice.”

 

Marco blushed and looked down at his dick before looking to what Tom considered a much smaller and less impressive dick. “Back at you.”

 

Tom and Marco nodded awkwardly at each other before realizing the ridiculousness of the situation and burst out laughing. “God we’re so fucking weird.”

 

“Agreed.” Marco smiled, rubbing his hands up and down his bare thighs anxiously.

 

“Alright, let’s get on with the show. You staring at me is making me unnerved.”

 

“That was nice vocab.” Marco praised him as he reached in the bag for a condom and the bottle of lube. “Have you been practicing for the ACT like you promised me you would?”

 

“Are we seriously talking about the ACT while you’re jacking off?” Tom asked incredulously.

 

Marco blushed. “I’m not jacking off! I’m just trying to put the freaking condom on. It’s a lot harder than you’d think.”

 

“HA! Harder.”

 

“Oh my god, you’re actually 11 aren’t you? Is this even legal?” Marco joked back, smacking Tom on the shoulder with the hand covered in lube.

 

“Holy shit, this stuff is cold and slimy.” Tom looked with a scrunched up face at where the lube had gotten on his shoulder.

 

“Good thing you’re not the one pouring it on your dick then.”

 

“Thank the heavens.”

 

“I’m not sure they’d want to be thanked right in this moment while we’re… you know… my penis is about to penetrate your butt.” Marco said sarcastically rubbing the lube between his hands.

 

“Thanks for the play-by-play.” Tom smiled before it dropped completely when something began prodding his butthole. “Oh, jeez what the fuck.”

 

The rest of it went about as smoothly as one’s first time goes.

 

Lots of accidental elbows to the face, lots of feet to the face, basically a lot of Tom accidentally assaulting Marco. By the end of it, Marco look like he’d come from a boxing match instead of an inexperienced round of sex.

 

It was kind of gross, both of them admitted towards the end of it, but nothing they regretted doing. Definitely not gross enough to not do again, all they needed was a little practice.

 

And, so, for the rest of the night they practiced with Marco kissing and touching every part of Tom, making sure his love was known. In turn, Tom provided enough noise and appreciation for both of them, causing for an awkward morning at the breakfast table where, as it turns out, you _can_ hear what’s going on in the basement from his parent’s room.

 

At least they had a sick pillow fort to hide inside of.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so i actually wrote this as really graphic sex and i didnt mean to so i had to go back and edit it :,) (i still have the graphic part if u shoot me a message i'll send it to you lmao)
> 
> what'd you guys think? also what drabbles would you like to see next bc i need some ideas


	9. Extras: Never Trust Birthday Flavored Cofffee

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tom forgets Marco's birthday

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey! I haven’t updated this story in a while, but I’ve been thinking of ideas for it nonstop! Ya girl graduated high school this Sunday and I was actually the commencement speaker so that was super interesting! I have my college orientation this Thursday like damn time is really flying by. With that said I was like dang I should update while I have time so ENJOY! 
> 
> unbeta'd short little idea that came to my mind 
> 
> Let me know what you think!

Summer was flying by fast and Tom was attempting to make the most of it.

 

From spontaneous picnic dates with Marco, going to the fair, illegally setting off fireworks at Marco’s lake house, and of course coffee breaks Marco and Tom had done just about everything. After how rocky their summer had started off, Tom was determined to make the rest of their summer together the best one yet.

 

Tom couldn’t help but feel like he’d forgotten something.

 

He sat in his messy room with Marco leaning against the headboard reading the latest edition of Young Justice. Tom was sprawled across Marco’s tanned legs playing the new Harry Potter game on his phone while a random music station played in the background.

 

It was bordering on 110 degrees outside, which was too hot to even think about let alone try to go out and do something in.

 

“I know what I’m forgetting!” Tom exclaimed into the previously silent room, startling Marco. “We haven’t gone to the pool!”

 

“That’s what you’re forgetting?” Marco asked incredulously, putting down his comic book.

 

“Think about it, Marco; we’ve done all these crazy fun things, but we haven’t even done the basic summer shit.”

 

“Basic summer shit.” Marco repeated slowly.

 

Tom felt like he was missing something. Why wasn’t Marco excited to go to the pool? He’d been complaining all day how hot he was and there was nothing better to help you cool off then going swimming.

 

“Yeah!” Tom pushed at Marco’s legs. “Common, we can even call Star and Jackie.”

 

Marco looked at Tom as if silently trying to assess something. “Alright.”

 

Tom smiled self-consciously at Marco’s lack of enthusiasm. “Great… I’m just gonna go change then.” Tom stumbled awkwardly off the bed and dug around in his overflowing dresser to find some basic black swim trunks.

 

Even though they’d seen each other naked quite a few times, Marco was acting so off that Tom decided to lock himself in the bathroom to change. Tom wondered if he’d done something to upset Marco. Marco had seemed really excited to hang out with Tom earlier today and nothing had gone down between them, so why was Marco being so quiet?

 

Maybe he was nervous to go out in public in a bathing suit?

 

No, that couldn’t be it, Tom shook his head as he began to undress. Marco wore whatever the hell he wanted whenever he wanted and didn’t care what anyone said.

 

What if that was just an act though? What if Marco was overcompensating his confidence this whole time and Tom had never even noticed?

 

Oh god, Tom thought, haulting in sliding off his pants as he began to freak out. Had Tom really not noticed how self-conscious Marco was because Tom was so in his head about the same thing?

 

Tom began to hyperventilate. Holy shit, he was such a bad boyfriend for not realizing this earlier. This is why Marco hadn’t ever been to the pool with him and now Tom was forcing him to go. Oh, shit, oh, shit, oh, shit.

 

There was a light knock on the bathroom door. “Tom, are you okay? You’re taking a long time.”

 

Tom’s eyes widened dramatically. “Yes! Yup! I’ll be out in one second I just had to… Had to, uh…” Tom froze. “I had to take a shit!” Tom face palmed.

 

It was silent, but then Marco let out a chuckle. “Well, okay then. I’m going to head to my place to grab my suit and I’ll be back.”

 

Tom nodded before realizing that Marco couldn’t see him. “Okay, yeah! Sounds great.”

 

Marco still hadn’t moved away from the door. “Make sure to call Star and Jackie. I think Jackie has her own pool so maybe we can go there.”

 

Perfect, Tom thought. Marco was probably more comfortable not going to a public pool and felt better knowing that Jackie would let them swim at her place. Tom sighed in relief. Problem solved.

 

Marco’s footsteps descended down the steps and Tom heard his front door shut with a click. He quickly finished pulling on his swim trunks and unlocked the bathroom door. He grabbed his phone that was still perched on his bed and dialed Star.

 

“HELLO? TOM?” Tom winced and pulled the phone away from his ear.

 

“Jeez, Star you don’t have to scream.”

 

“TOM?”

 

“YEAH! WHAT?” He yelled back.

 

“HI!”

 

Tom rolled his eyes. “Hey, Star.”

 

“What’s my favorite pink-head up to?”

 

“Star, I’m the only person with pink hair that you know.”

 

He heard Star giggle. “Your point?

 

“Listen, me and Marco were wondering if you and Jackie wanted to go swimming?” Star squealed into the phone, causing Tom to drop his phone to the floor.

 

“Oh, my little precious baby Tom! I would love to!”

 

“Great. Will Jackie let us swim at her place?” Tom asked while searching for some sunscreen.

 

“My sweetums definitely won’t mind. Especially since it’s for such a special occasion.”

 

Tom rolled his eyes. “It’s not _that_ special. We’re just swimming.”

 

Star gasped loudly, causing Tom to drop his phone once again. From where it lay on the floor he could clearly hear Star freaking out. “TOM HOW COULD YOU NOT REMEMBER WHAT- AND HE’S GOING TO- OH TOM YOU-.”

 

Tom quickly picked his phone back up. “Star what are you screaming about?”

 

She took a deep breath. “Tom, my little babushka, my tiny little pink prince, my g-.”

 

“STAR!” Tom was already freaking out about Marco being self-conscious and he didn’t need Star screaming at him on top of it.

 

“It’s Marco’s birthday.” She said at last.

 

Tom’s phone silently slipped from his grasp as he stared ahead of him.

 

Holy fuck he’d messed up.

 

_THAT’S WHY MARCO WAS ACTING THAT WAY!_

 

Marco wasn’t self-conscious at all, he was waiting for Tom to wish him a happy birthday and waiting to see what Tom had in store for him.

 

Oh shit.

 

Tom scrambled to the floor, grasping at his phone where Star had begun to scream again. “Star, Star, _STAR!_ I need your help!” She quieted down. “We’re going to plan the greatest freaking pool party in the history of parties.”

 

“ _YES!”_ She hung up immediately and Tom could only hope she was going to be semblance of a help.

 

 

☕♨☕

 

Tom ran around downtown in his swim trunks and a skimpy loose tank top that, now that he thought about it, was probably his mom’s, looking for party supplies, drawing some very disturbed looks from the people he passed on the street.

 

Jackie had informed him that Star was busy calling everyone she knew to come over and that Jackie was tasked with keeping Marco busy so he wouldn’t get suspicious of how long Tom was taking to be ready.

 

This left Tom with the rest of everything else.

 

He ran into the Echo Creek grocery store looking for party supplies only to find that the only things in stock were for a kid’s Elena of Avalor party. Tom was running out of time and the next store that would have party supplies _and_ a bakery in it was ten minutes away.

 

Tom banged his head against the shelves as he picked up the princess themed streamers and utensils. Marco was going to hate him.

 

The bakery already had premade cakes, which was about the only thing going right for Tom at the moment, and he had them write Marco’s name on it with ‘Happy Brithday.”

 

Tom ran to the checkout line and booked it after the nervous looking cashier cashed him out. He couldn’t blame them for being nervous of him. Tom realized how crazy he looked at the moment, red and panting from running around with a crazy determined look in his eyes.

 

“Would you like your receipt with you, or in the bag?” They asked him hesitantly.

 

“Uh, bag please.” After the cashier had placed it in the stuffed plastic bags, Tom was off again. He ran to his car and booked it to Jackie’s house.

 

Upon arriving, he noticed the lack of people there and began to worry. At least there was a perfectly normal cake for Marco to appreciate.

 

Tom only realized that the cake was not as perfect as he previously thought as he placed the cake down on a table Jackie had placed outside with snacks. The baker had misspelled ‘birthday.’

 

HOW… Tom had the urge to bang his head against something again.

 

Marco was definitely going to kill him.

 

Looking around at the pink and purple streamers with Elena of Avalor on them, the messed up birthday cake and the lack of people, Tom felt the urge to cry.

 

His phone lit up with a text from Marco saying he’d meet him at Jackie’s house, meaning he would be there to see this mess of a party in less than ten minutes.

 

Star walked out with a huge cooler of drinks and popsicles, setting it down next to the snack table. “What’s up, Thomas the Train?”

 

Tom wiped a hand down his face. “Don’t call me that.”

 

Star realized how stressed Tom was and ushered him to a pool chair. “What’s wrong? We did it!”

 

“We didn’t though!” Tom said exasperatedly. “I fucked everything up. The decorations, the cake. Hell, no one’s even here because it’s so bad.”

 

Star pouted and rubbed Tom’s back. “I think Marco will appreciate that you did anything in the first place! Look,” Star gestured around them at the half-assed party, “we put this together in thirty minutes. That’s _realllly_ amazing! YOU’RE AMAZING!” Star slapped him on the back. “And NEVER _EVER_ doubt my abilities to get people to come to a party!”

 

As soon as she finished speaking, the doorbell began ringing and people flooded into Jackie’s backyard.

 

“See?” Star exclaimed, jumping up from the chair. “NOW LET’S GET THIS PARTY STARTED!” She ran to the outdoor speakers and turned them on full blast.

 

Tom didn’t feel like he was in the clear just yet.

 

“Oh, _shit_!” Tom jolted.

 

“What’s wrong now?” Star asked.

 

“I forgot to get him a gift.” Now Tom really felt like crying. He was the worst boyfriend in the history of boyfriends. That was his new official title: worst boyfriend ever in the history of space and time. “Marco’s going to hate me, and I don’t blame him. He’ll probably never want to see me again and I can’t…” Tom’s mouth started to wobble as tears rose to his eyes.

 

“You do have a gift for him though.” Star gave Tom a huge hug, leaning in to what Tom thought was going to be a whisper, but instead ended up being Star screaming into his ear, “YOUR BODY!”

 

Tom choked on his spit. “Star! Be serious.”

 

“I am.” She winked and nudged him.

 

Tom rolled his eyes, though he did feel a bit better. “Gee, thanks for the help. I’m still fucked.”

 

“Who’s fucked?” Tom turned around on his chair to see Marco standing there in his gloriously revealing swim suit. Marco wasn’t toned or anything, but damn he was a sight with his dark skin standing out against his bright coral brief-like swim trunks.

 

Tom’s mouth dropped. “Me, definitely me.”

 

Marco laughed. “I thought you forgot my birthday, but this party is amazing!” He wrapped his arms around Tom’s pale upper-half. Tom reveled in Marco’s touch even though he knew he didn’t deserve it after the half-assed last minute party.

 

“Uh, I’m glad you like it…” Tom trailed off, hoping Marco wouldn’t look too closely at anything.

 

“Is that a Disney Princess banner?” Marco laughed at the sight of the frilly decorations strung up.

 

“Elena of Avalor, at least know your Disney princess’.” Tom joked lightly back, glad that Marco wasn’t upset.

 

“Did you pick that one because she looks most like me?” Marco teased.

 

“Of course I did, babe.” Tom relaxed back into Marco’s arms feeling a lot better about the whole ordeal.

 

They watched Star do backflips dangerously close to the pool before Jackie found her and gave her a popsicle to get her to stop. Everyone was having a good time and Marco even got up to dance with Tom a few times.

 

Then it was time to cut the cake and Tom was nervous all over again. He should’ve had someone pick up extra icing and fix the lettering, but he was completely absorbed in everything else going on outside, and his own internal panic.

 

Marco, once again, laughed it off, thinking it was a joke. “This is just like those funny cake pictures I have saved on my phone.” He gave Tom a quick peck on the lips while Star began lighting the candles. “You know me so well.” Marco was definitely giving Tom bedroom eyes that he _did not deserve._

 

But oh god those beautiful honey eyes were staring right into Tom’s soul and the guilt was eating him alive.

 

Tell him you forgot his birthday, that none of these mistakes were on purpose. TELL HIM, his subconscious screamed at him.

 

Star gave him a thumbs up from behind Marco like everything was fine and dandy, which, Tom supposed it was, but at the same time it wasn’t.

 

Marco blew out the candles and looked like he was half expecting Star to shove his face into the cake, but Jackie held her back thankfully.

 

“I’m so glad you threw this party for me.” Marco confided as he handed Tom a piece of cake. “I was so worried you forgot.” Marco looked down at his plate. “I was kind of sad, but I should’ve known you were planning something.” He said with a smirk and nudge.

 

Tom laughed a little too loudly. “HA! Ha, yes. Definitely fooled you!” He nudged Marco back a little too roughly, causing Marco to raise an eyebrow.

 

“Tom.”

 

“Yes?” Tom’s heart pounded.

 

Marco put his cake down and crossed his arms. “You forgot, didn’t you?”

 

Tom’s lip began to tremble again and tears rushed to the surface. “MARCO I’M SO SORRY I KNEW WHAT DATE IT WAS BUT I DIDN’T REALIZE WHAT THE DATE TODAY WAS AND I LOVE YOU SO MUCH AND I REALLY AM SORRY AND I TRIED TO FIX IT,” He gestured wildly to the party where people had stopped dancing to watch what all the screaming was about. “AND I FUCKED EVERYTHING UP AND-.”

 

“Tom.”

 

“NO, MARCO REALLY I-.”

 

“Tom!” Marco cupped Tom’s face and gently brought their lips together. “I’m not mad at you.”

 

“You- You’re not?” Tom blubbered with snot dripping down his face.

 

“Nope.” Marco shook his head and offered Tom a tissue. “In fact, I’m really impressed you managed to throw this together so quickly.”

 

“You are?” Tom’s voice was still wobbly.

 

“Heck yeah!” Marco laughed and everyone returned to the party, leaving Marco and Tom in their own little world again.

 

“Even though I fucked up all the decorations and the cake wasn’t even spelled right?”

 

Marco leaned in to kiss him again. “Of course. It was really sweet of you to worry so much.”

 

Tom sighed in relief, leaning into Marco’s embrace. “God, I feel so much better.”

 

“Good,” Marco leaned down and kissed Tom on the forehead. “Now where’s my gift?”

 

Tom looked out into the night sky and cursed.

 

Next year there would be no way Tom would forget Marco’s birthday.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **YOU, YES YOU! leave a comment before you go!**
> 
> i need more ideas for this au so let me know if you want to see me write anything specific for this au

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading! let me know what you thought/ any mistakes I missed!
> 
> also i couldn't help myself with the title... it was too perfect  
>  
> 
> if you make fanart tag my tumblr!: [webwrecker](http://webwrecker.tumblr.com/)  
>  _[EDIT 11/09] there's now a skype group to answer peoples questions about the fic/ writing process / future oneshots/ ideas ANYTHING so_[heres a link to it](http://webwrecker.tumblr.com/post/167321817308/you-mean-a-latte-to-me)  
>  **Check out my new tomco highschool au: Mismatched**


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